Digital Graphics File FormatsYour name here

Raster Graphics• Raster graphics are images made up of bitmaps• Bitmaps are made up of tiny cells called pixels. • A Bitmap graphic is usually made up of pixels/bits of different colour information.

Because the images are made up of many pixels the image file size can be quite large as every single pixel needs storing to the computer make up the image.

• Bitmap images have a fixed resolution of 300 dpi (dots per inch). A problem with Bitmap files is that when you resize a Raster graphic it can tend to lose quality and cause distortion.

• In photographs image sizes are talked about in megapixels, this is the number of pixels/bits the picture is split into. 1 Mega pixel = 1,000,000 and because of the large quantities of information (pixels) used in pictures online images online can become pixelated because the image has been compressed into less megapixels

• Bitmap files are used for Photographs, short digital animations and Web formats and can be saved as JPEG files, Tiff Files, Giff Files & BMP Files.

Vector Graphics• Vector graphics are made up of vectors known as paths and strokes. • Vectors are defined by a start and end point with curves, points and angles

between them.• This means that the path can be a line, a triangle, a square or even a curvy

shape. • It is possible to edit each object separately, for example, change the shape,

colour, size and position.• Even if an object in a vector graphic is quite large, it doesn't need a lot of

computer memory. Therefore the file size of a vector graphic is often very small.

• Vector graphics are scalable - ie when you resize them, they do not lose quality. They are perfect for images that need to be both large and small ie Company Logo.

• Vector Graphics can be saved as PSD files, AI files, Flash Files and WMF files.

Raster Graphics

JPEGStands For Joint Photographic Experts Group

Used For/Example Photographs and Web Formats –Used in Print industry

Advantage Easy to export and small in file size

Disadvantage Loses quality with multiple edits due to compression and recompression each time it is edited

TIFFStands For Tagged Image File Format

Used For/Example Desktop publishingUsed In Graphic Design

Advantage Adobe In Design docs saved as Tiffs can save multi page documents to a single file.

Don’t lose any quality due to compression as they have the option of Lossless compression.

Disadvantage Large File sizes which use large amounts of memory.

GIFStands For Graphics Interchange Format

Used For/Example Short animations on the internetFacebook

Advantage Can produce a series of images in a loop which appear as a short video

Can be inserted into a power point

Disadvantage They only animate in browsers that support animated gifs

Low Quality

BMPStands For Bitmap Image File

Used For/Example Photographs, graphic imagesMagazines & print media

Advantage No quality loss in compression gives clear crisp images.

Disadvantage Large file sizes that cant be compressed

Vector Graphics

PSDStands For Photoshop Document

Used For/Example Image manipulation, magazine cover designGraphic Designers

Advantage Supports transparencySaves layers, page formatting information and Swatches etc.

Disadvantage PSD files tend to be extremely large making them difficult to email or transfer

AIStands For Adobe Illustrator Art

Used For/Example Logo Creation and images that need to be scalable.Graphic Design

Advantage The images are scalable so can be made big or small with no loss of quality

Disadvantage To create images some amount of skill or training is require to master it

FLAStands For Flash File

Used For/Example Used to create animations and gamesGames industry

Advantage Can produce high quality files with a small file sizeCan include sound and video

Disadvantage Compatibility problem viewing the animations on certain devices

WMFStands For Windows Metafile

Used For/Example Used for logos Graphic Design

Advantage Can be scaled big and small as vectors have no loss in definitionCan contain BOTH vector and bitmap components

Disadvantage Few applications support direct editing of metafiles

File Format Capture and Optimising

CompressionDefinition Compression is the way in which a files

size is reduced

Advantage The advantage of compressing a file size is that is smaller in size this means its takes up less memory and is easier to export and receive

Disadvantage Images become more pixelated as they are compressed as they save smaller amounts of pixels each time.

Image CaptureMethod Scanner

How is it used for image capture of graphics

You can digitise physical images like hand drawn sketches, documents, photographs and mixed media images.

Method CameraHow is it used for image capture of

graphicsTaking pictures

Method Graphics Tablet

How is it used for image capture of graphics

This is is a piece of technology that controls the mouse like a pen allowing enhanced control of drawing, selection & digital handwriting.

OptimisingWhy would you optimise? To ensure easier viewing on the web.

Images load quicker when optimised as their file sizes are reduced

How can you optimise? You can optimise an image by Reducing its image size, bit depth (colour of individual pixels) & resolution (amount of pixels within image).You can also optimise for the web buy changing “image size” in photoshop.

Advantage to optimising Smaller file size faster to upload Images easier to view online

Disadvantage to optimising Images can not be more than 500 pixels wide

Storage

File SizeWhat could affect a Working Scale (Photoshop) document file size?

The size of the image and the detail within it.

How could you reduce the file size of a Working Scale document without

affecting quality?

I would compress the image

What is an advantage of scaling up images before exporting?

The advantage of scaling up images before exporting is that when they receive the image and scale it down it will be less pixelated

What is a disadvantage of scaling up images before exporting?

Large file size makes the image harder to send

File Naming ConventionsWhat naming conventions could you use when creating your video game assets?

• Name each file for each individual part of the game/character also set up separate files for separate sections.

Why is it a good idea to accurately name your assets?

It is good to name files accurately and in an ordered so they can be re found with ease when needed and also filed correctly for future use of yourself and others

Asset ManagementWhy would you use folders when storing

your assets?I would use files when storing assets to make assets fast and easy to find and organised.

What folders would you create and what would you save within them

I would create files for music, characters and scenes and I would save them within a Folder named with the project title.