Adobe Illustrator Vector Graphics
In this Adobe Illustrator Vector Graphics tutorial find out what vectors are and how they are used. Unlike raster images vector graphics are completely scalable with no loss of quality.
Vector v Raster – what is the difference?
The easiest way to describe these would be to say that if you were an artist for example Lau Trec then you would be working with vectors whilst if you were a photographer such as Bill Brandt then you would be working with Raster.
In the physical world Vector would be described as art formed from a canvas using paint and brushes. Incidentally the fact that Illustrator’s workspace is called a canvas is not by mistake. And a Raster image would be anything with a pixel, a photographic image.
Vector Art is………….what exactly?
Put simply it is artwork that consists of vectors meaning the graphics are lines, curves, shapes and points based on mathematics. Adobe Illustrator is a prime example of vector artwork.
A term that refers to the algorithm working in the back of the software that creates artwork in Illustrator. Vector artwork can be resized, rotated and generally edit without loss of quality.
An example of Vector Artwork can be seen in the image on the left created by PCH Vector
If you click on the image to the left you will see how clearly defined it is.
At the back you can see the original image and at the front you see the editable paths in the picture.
These are fills and strokes so can be resized, recoloured and generally edited in many ways.
So what are vectors used for?
It’s used in many ways to create steady artwork. It is very popular with logo designers because of its flexibility with text. You can turn your text into a graphic in Illustrator and then using tools such as the knife cut up the character or word graphic and apply a two colour effect to it. People love using it to design and produce flyers, posters and signage and of course it is the number one choice of package designers.
Quick question – ever thought about how the label on a tin of peas is designed? Illustrator probably.
Other uses are:
- Website Mockups
- Email Campaigns
- Advertising (very popular)
- Infographics
- Original Charts & Graphs for Financials
- Games
- Cartoons
- Artwork
- Fashion Design
Can you turn a photo into a vector image?
Yes you can and one of the best ways to do this is to use the Image Trace tool in Illustrator. Incidentally if you have an older version of Illustrator then the tool is known as Live Trace.
How do you do that?
In this picture the Image Trace tool was used to break down this image from the Freepix website so that we could re-colour the little girl.
Make sure that the image you want to trace is selected then select the Image Trace drop down & select an option.
In this instance the choice was six colours.
Image Trace will then run and show you the result. If you’re happy with the result press Expand and the image will convert to vector.
Image Trace Video Tutorial
Vector Historial Facts
For anyone interested in vector history like most things they have their feet firmly in maths and are “a quantity that has both magnitude and direction but not position”. Which means they’ve been around for a very long time but “in their most modern form, vectors appeared late in the 19th century when Josiah Gibbs and Oliver Heaviside” worked with them in electromagnetism.
We don’t know much about electomagnetism here at Greta Powell Training but enjoyed reading about vectors here at Encyclopedia Britannica here
Illustrator Introduction Course
Or if you’d simply like a trainer to work with and learn all about vectors you come on our Illustrator Introduction Course.
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or download our Adobe Illustrator Introduction Training Course Overview
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