Digital Graphics File Formats

Becky Coughlin

Raster Graphics

A Rastor Graphic is one of the main types of Digital Graphics, these types of graphics are mostly found on the internet which are made up of Bitmaps. These Bitmaps are made up of tiny pixels; all different colours to create an image. These are often used for Photoshop.Although, because of this, resizing can be difficult as stretching the pixels can make them distorted.

Vector Graphics

A Vector Graphic is made up of vectors or paths/strokes which are defined by end and start points, with curves, points and angels between them. With the right information, the path can become anything from a line to a square. These different control points being changed does not make the image lose definition unlike the Raster image. Unlike rastor graphics, there is no loss of definition which can be useful to companies when making their company logos as they can change size easier for things such as business cards or billboards.

Raster Graphics

JPEGStands For Joint Photographic Experts Group

Used For/Example Photographs and web formats or even photographs on Facebook etc. They could then use this for a magazine or to show their work to other people.

Advantage Can be opened by any computer due to being compatible with every program.Large compression means it’s quicker to transfer the images. The file is much smaller than others which keeps memory usage low and managable.

Disadvantage Loses quality each time it is edited due to compression and recompression to keep the file size down. What this means is that each time the photo is saved, less pixels will be saved with it over time resulting in it to lose quality.

TIFFStands For Tagged Image File Format

Used For/Example Desktop publishing (popular with graphic designers) who could use this for their images in a magazine. Adobe InDesign documents can also be saved as TIFF’s.

Advantage Adobe InDesign documents saved as TIFFs can save multi-page elements to a single TIFF file which is why they are normally saved using this format.It also doesn't lose quality which means you can save it many times over time without it losing quality at all.

Disadvantage As it has a lot of information on it, it uses a large file sizes which then means it requires certain software’s to open the image which restricts where it can be used or opened.

GIFStands For Graphic Interchange Format

Used For/Example GIF’s are used for short digital animations, often found on the internet. Can be used in presentations to make it look more professional.

Advantage Small file sizes so can be viewed mostly any place e.g. The internet.Can show movement and emotion which could help in certain job presentations or companies websites to make them look more professional and interesting.

Disadvantage Bad quality due to large pixels which can make them look blocky as there is a limited colour palette.They are dependent on an internet connection.Once it is saved, it can not be edited again.

BMPStands For Bitmap Image File

Used For/Example Similar to a TIFF and JPEG file, it can be saved as any pixel-based image.

Advantage No loss in compression- keeps the detail because they are saved in high quality.They can store raw image data.Supported by most devices which makes it easy to use.

Disadvantage Has a large file size due to the high quality which can take up a lot of memory.They do not scale well and it can change the image as it removes pixels or adds them to allow the size to be changed.

Vector Graphics

PSDStands For Photoshop document

Used For/Example Image manipulation, front covers of magazines etc as it can be saved in layers.

Advantage Saves layers, page formatting information so it becomes easier to return to an image and change certain things.It can have a transparency background which can make presentation look more professional.

Disadvantage Only works on Photoshop or Adobe programs which can limit the amount of use in the image as well as taking up a lot of memory due to the large file sizes.

AIStands For Adobe Illustrator Art

Used For/Example Logos to represent companies and different graphics similar to this.

Advantage No loss in definition as the images can be scaled smaller or larger without losing their quality.

Disadvantage Need certain software to run it which can limit where it can be used and viewed.Need a certain skill or training to master it.Takes a long time to add all the detail and you would need a lot of patience.

FLAStands For Flash File

Used For/Example Used to create animation and games.

Advantage Can produce high quality files with a small file size which is good when it comes to using them for the internet as they won’t take long to load. Can include sound and video.

Disadvantage Specialist software needed to open the program which could be difficult for some people without that software.

WMFStands For Windows Metafile

Used For/Example Similar to an AL file. Used for company logos and graphics, it can be also used for clipart.

Advantage Can be scaled big and small as vectors and have no loss in definition. Can contain both vector and bitmap components.

Disadvantage Only available on Windows platforms.

File Format Capture and Optimising

CompressionDefinition Loss of compression is the way in which

files sizes are reduced by reducing the amount of information that is saved.

Advantage Reduces amount of information saved which makes them a smaller file size.

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

Image CaptureMethod Scanner

How is it used for image capture of graphics

Used to digitally capture physical objects such as a document.

Method CameraHow is it used for image capture of

graphicsThe light coming into the camera is recorded by a sensor, it records the information of the pixels which is then used to create an image.

Method Graphics TabletHow is it used for image capture of

graphicsYou can control the tablet with your touch or a special pen made for the software to create drawings.

OptimisingWhy would you optimise? To make it easier to view on the internet.

How can you optimise? You can optimize through changing the image size in Photoshop, as well as being able to optimize the colour, size and resolution.

Advantage to optimising Reduce the file size making it easier to open, download and use on different software's.

Disadvantage to optimising Can limit the amount of information in the image which stops you from making the image bigger as it becomes pixelated.

Storage

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

Things that could affect these things is the size of the document as the resolution can change within the documents.

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

affecting quality?

You an reduce file size through optimizing the file and save the documents as a JPEG.

What is an advantage of scaling up images before exporting?

It allows you to adjust the size of the image and what you would like to do with it such as change it to a JPEG.

What is a disadvantage of scaling up images before exporting?

It can be stretched too much which could result many details to be lost and the image could become more pixelated.

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

I would name each convention with the right name as well as the date it was made/updated.

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

It stops confusion as well as letting you pick out the right assets quickly without losing them when they need to be changed.

Asset ManagementWhy would you use folders when storing

your assets?To keep them organized and make it easier to find the right assets.

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

Different aspects according to the context: Person, Background, House etc.