Raster Vs Vector
In the digital world there are two main types of image files, Raster and Vector.
Raster is widely popular in formats such as jpg, gif, png, and are widely used on the web.
Vector graphics are common for images that will be applied to a physical product. Also used in CAD, engineering, and 3D graphics.
The main differences between the two are the fact that raster images makes use of pixels.. A pixel is a single point or the smallest single element in a display device. If you zoom in to a raster image you may start to see a lot of little tiny squares. whereas vectors are mathematical calculations from one point to another that form lines and shapes. If you zoom into a vector graphic it will always look the same.
A raster image has a specific number of pixels. When you enlarge the image file without changing the number of pixels, the image will look blurry. When you enlarge the file by adding more pixels, the pixels are added randomly throughout the image, rarely producing good results.
When you enlarge a vector graphic, the math formulas stay the same, rendering the same visual graphic no matter the size. Vector graphics can be scaled to any size without losing quality.
Key characteristics of vector images are: They are scalable, Simple color editing, able to use wireframes.
Vector Graphics are typically used for Logos, Architectural drawings and 3D Graphics.
Key Characteristics of Raster Images are:Made of pixels, Do not scale up optimally – Image must be created/scanned at the desired usage size or larger, Raster images are the most common image format, including: jpg, gif, png, tif, bmp, psd, eps and pdfs originating from raster programs.
Think of it this way you Paint with pixels and you draw outlines of shapes with vectors.
Sources – “Raster vs Vector.” Raster (Bitmap) vs Vector. Gomez Graphics, 2000. Web. 02 Nov. 2016. <http://vector-conversions.com/vectorizing/raster_vs_vector.html>.
U Creative. “How To Explain Raster vs. Vector To Your Clients.” UCreativecom. U Creative, 16 Sept. 2015. Web. 02 Nov. 2016. <http://www.ucreative.com/articles/how-to-explain-raster-vs-vector-to-your-clients/>.
Photoshop Composition
This piece was inspired by the concept of Atlantis. For this piece trying to give an underwater feel was paramount so hues of blue and green ended up being the dominant color. I decided to use an image taken by me of denive particularly for this scene to show her swimming towards the city and also to incorporate a bit of marine life.
Source Images:
Fruit Character (In Class Excercise)
This is a character I made during class for our introduction to Photoshop.It was constructed using a basic function of Photoshop, Layers. Layers are a very powerful tool and enables the user to manipulate various objects to suit the users needs.The fruits I used were Lemon, Banana, Pomegranate, Avacado and Blueberry. To me it looks like a Dog even though i was just randomly creating a face so I’ll call it the Fruity Dog.
Open Source Resources
Sound Stories Assignment 2
Telling Digital Stories Assignment 1
Exploring the ideas in Digital Art
Digital Art can be described as the process of using a digital medium as key part of a creative process to create Art. These can include Paintings, Drawings, Photos and Videos.
In the world of Digital Media there is very little that one cannot achieve, the only anchor that holds us down is that of our minds, release the anchor and you’ll see that the possibilities are endless with technology changing on a daily basis.
There are a host of software which can be used to achieve various forms of digital art such as Adobe Photoshop, Indesign, Muse and Illustrator, Cinema 4D, Blender, Nuke, Unity Engine, just to name a few.
Caribbean influences can make a huge impact on how we portray ourselves to the world on a whole. People are very fascinated with Caribbean culture, this can be seen in the recent outbreak of people making reference to Jamaica in their music and them sampling our songs and using them to create new music and other forms of artistic expressions.
We as artistes can tap into this by embracing our culture and letting people know who we are.
Taj Francis is a good example of this he uses common local occurrences as can be seen in his piece “can’t feel no way” where its very common in the Caribbean to see men in mesh merino cutting Jelly or Sugar cane with elegant precision.
In his album art for Protoje, Protoje can be seen smoking a “big spliff”, Marijuana is considered a sacrament for Rastafarians and not just a recreational drug.
We could use our influence and culture and with awesome expressions of our art we can build not only awareness but use it as a means for income for the entire Caribbean.
Digital Media compromises of multi million dollar industries such as Movies, Design, Dance etc. Many of these have become staple products for society. Many of us on the weekends go to the movies enjoying the films that are displayed, every special effect every second of film is a product of digital media production and if we were to tap into this market we would benefit greatly.
Local television stations have been pioneers in that field creating complex motion graphics and animations to better portray the content which they are presenting to us viewers.
Jason Craig Rose is another Artiste who’s work makes an impact but in the religious perspective. His take on the Christian Faith uses a familiar icon for many Jamaicans, The Lion of Judah. Many Jamaicans can relate to the Lion of Judah, even in popular ‘Negro Spiritual’ songs this approach could lead many to the faith because of the familiarity with the Lion of Judah. This shows that art can greatly influence the thinking of the masses.
The region has been slowly catching on to the world of Digital Media with many strides being made to inspire creatives such as the recent Kingstoon Festivals which is a regional animation festival which not only showcases work from the region but also brings in industry experts to teach and inspire budding creatives.
The Minister of Education here in Jamaica has pledged to invest in the field of animation to help in economic growth. External Examination bodies such as the Caribbean Examination Council has begun to implement Digital Media into their syllabus which was heavily promoted at the Kingstoon Festival.
At the Festival we were introduced to various software that can be used for animation as well as various types of animation and how to pitch to a producer in order to get these ideas aired and to make money from these enterprises.
The Caribbean is a melting pot of varying cultures and with the right mind set we can tap into the the vast market and help the region to make a significant impact in the world of Digital Media.
Sources: https://www.behance.net/gallery/27132557/The-Good-News-Series, http://www.tajtenfold.com/, http://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/, http://africandigitalart.com/2016/03/taj-francis-afro-caribbean-japanese-digital-art/
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