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GRAPHICS
Although graphics software was relative latecomer to the computer world, it has
advanced a long way in a short time. In the early 1980, most graphics programs
were limited to drawing simple geometric shapes, usually in black and white.
Today, graphics software offers advanced drawing and painting tools, and
virtually unlimited color control. In the newspapers and magazines, on posters
and billboards. In TV and the movies can be subtle or stunning, obviously
artificial, or amazingly lifelike.
Platforms
In 1984, the introduction of the Apple Macintosh computer and a modest piece of
software known as Mac Paint ushered in the era of “art” on the personal
computer. With a pointing device and a black-and-white monitor that displayed
images just as they would print, the Macintosh computer allowed users to
Manipulate shapes, lines, and patterns with great flexibility.
In the late 1980, Microsoft’s Windows brought many of the same capabilities to
IBM PCs have achieved relative parity with Macintosh systems in the area of
graphics software. A wide array of graphics programs is now available for both
platforms.
Types of Graphics Files
There are two basic groups into which these formats are divided: bitmap and
vector formats.
Bitmaps Versus Vectors
 A grid of dots, called a bitmap (Bitmap images are often referred to as raster
images. Notes that, even though the two terms are interchangeable, this book
uses the term bitmap, for consistency.)
 A set of vectors, which are mathematical equations describing the positions
of lines. In general, graphics programs fall into two primary categories along
this division. Those that work with bitmaps are called paint programs. Those
that work with vectors are called draw programs. Each category has
advantages and drawbacks, depending on the king of output needed.
When you use bitmap-based graphics software, you are using the computer
to move pixels around. If you look closely at a computer screen, you can see
the tiny dots that make up images---these are pixels. Manipulating pixels can
become complex. For example, an 8 * 10-inch black-and-white image---if
displayed at a typical screen resolution of 72 pixels per inch (ppi)---is a
mosaic of 414, 720 pixels. That means that the computer must remember he
praise location of each and every one of those pixels as they are viewed,
moved, or altered. If it is decided that the same 8 * 10-inch piece of artwork
must have up to 256 colors in its makeup (which is considered minimal with
today’s technology), then the computer must keep track of the 414,720 pixels
multiplied by the 8 bits per pixel that are necessary to identify 256 different
colors. That equals 3,317,760 bits that the computer must keep track of for
one image.

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Unlike paint programs, which manipulate bitmaps, draw programs work

their magic through mathematics. By using equations rather than dots to
represent lines, shapes, and patterns, vector-based graphics software can
represent highly detailed images with only a fraction of the computing
power required by bitmaps.
Strictly speaking, the vectors used by draw programs are lines drawn form
point ot point. Vector-based software can use additional equations to define
the thickness and color of a line, its pattern, and other attributes. Although a
line on the screen is still displayed as a series of pixels (because that is how
all computer screens work), to the computer it is an equation. Thus, to move
the line from Point A to Point B, all the computer does is substitute the
coordinates of Point A with hose for Point B. this saves the effort of
calculating how to move thousands of individual pixels.
Standard File Formats
If you need to share files with other users or move files between programs
(artists and designers almost always do), you should be familiar with the
standard file formats for graphics files, as shown in figure. These common
formats apply only to bitmap images and can be used by nearly any newer
software that creates or edits bitmap graphics.
Standard Formats for Bitmap Graphics
FORMAT DESRIPTION
BMP (BitMap) A graphics format native to Windows and the Windows
applications created by Microsoft. Widely used on PCs, less so on
Macs, although the Macintosh can read BMP files with programs such
as Photoshop.
PICT (PICTure) The native format defined by Apple for the Mac. Widely
used on Macs but not PCs.
TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) Bitmap format defined in 1986 by
Microsoft and Aldus. Widely used on both Macs and PCs.
JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) A bitmap format common on the
World Wide Web and often used for photos that will be viewed on
screen JPEG is more than just a file format; it is a widely used standard
that incorporates specific algorithms to ensure optimum image quality
while keeping file size to a minimum. JPEG is often abbreviated as
JPG.
GIF (Graphic Interchange Format) A format developed by GomupServe.
Like JPED images, GIF images are often found on World Wide Web
pages.
PNG (Portable Network Graphics) A format developed as an alternative to
GIF. The PNG format is till emerging, but gaining popularity on World
Wide Web pages. It provides greater color quality and more color
attributes than GIF or TIFF files, but smaller file sizes than JPEG.

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Getting Existing Images into Your Computer

The majority of graphics programs allow the user to create images form scratch,
building simple lines and shapes into complex graphics. However, when using
high-end graphics software, it is probably more common to begin with an
existing image. If the image you start with is already a graphic file, then getting it
into your computer is a matter of importing the file into the program that you
want to use. Doing so simply requires that your program understand the file
format in which the graphic is stored. There are, however, other building blocks
with which you can start. The most common are clip art and printed images that
you digitize (convert form a printed format to a digital one) using a scanner. If
you do not have an image, you can use a digital camera to capture something in
the real world quickly and import it into your computer.
Scanners and Digital Cameras
A scanner is a little bit like a photocopy machine, except that instead of copying
the image to paper, it transfers the images directly into the computer. If the
image is on paper or a liked, a scanner can convert it into a digital file that a
computer can manipulate. The scanner is attached to the computer by a cable
and controlled by software that is often included with the graphics program. The
result of scanning an image is a bitmap file (although software tools are available
for translating these images into vector formats).
Digital cameras are another way to import images into a computer. These
devices store digitizes images in memory for transfer into a computer. Many are
small and easy to use and include software and cables for the transfer process.
Once again, the resulting file is generally bitmap
Electronic Photographs
Today, graphic artists use traditional photos translated into digital formats more
often than they use photos from digital cameras. Digitizing a photo always
involves some type of scanner, but the process has become sophisticated in
recent years.
The PhotoCD offers many advantages. First, it provides a convenient storage
medium of photos. Second, PhotoCD software makes it easy to quickly view and
select photos from disk. Third, many PhotoCDs sore the images at several
different resolutions, making them available for different purposes. (A magazine,
for example, requires much higher-resolution images than a newspaper or a Web
page.)
Clip Art
The term “clip art” originated with the existence of large books filled with page
after page of professionally created drawings and graphics that could be cut out,
or clipped,“ from the pages and glued to a paper layout.
Today, clip art is commonly available on CD-ROM, diskettes, or via commercial
online services. Many word processing and presentation programs also feature a
selection of clip art, although the choices may be limited unless the program

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came on a compact disk. Clip art can be found in both bitmap and vector
formats.
GRAPHICS SOFTWARE
Creating a digital image, or manipulating an existing one, can involve a huge
variety of processes. No single piece of graphics software is capable of
performing all the possible functions. In fact, there are five major categories of
graphics software:
 Paint software
 Photo-manipulation software
 Draw software
 Computer-aided (CAD) software
 3-D modeling and animation software
Of the five, the first two are bitmap-based paint programs, and the rest are
vector-based draw programs.
Paint Programs
With software tools that have names like paintbrush, pen chalk, watercolors,
airbrush, crayon, and eraser, paint programs have a familiar feel. However,
because paint programs keep track of each and every pixel placed on a screen,
they also can do things that are impossible with traditional artists’ tools---for
example, erasing a single pixel or creating instant copies of an image.
Photo-Manipulation Programs
When scanners made it easy to transfer photographs to the computer at high
resolution, a new class of software was needed to manipulate these images on
the screen. A cousin of paint programs, photo-manipulation programs now take
the place of a photographer’s darkroom for many tasks. Although most often
used for simple jobs such as sharpening focus or adjusting contrast, photo-
manipulation programs are also used to modify photographs in ways far beyond
the scope of a traditional darkroom.
Because photo-manipulation programs edit images at the pixel level, just as paint
programs do, they can control precisely how a picture will look. They are also
used to edit non-photographic images and to create images from scratch. The
advent of photo-manipulation programs has caused an explosion in the use of
computer to modify images. Adobe Photoshop, Corel Photo Paint, and
Micrografx Picture Publisher are some popular photo-manipulation programs.
Draw Programs
Draw programs are well suited for work where accuracy and flexibility are as
important as coloring and special effects. Although they do not possess the pixel-
pushing capability of paint programs, they can be used to create images with an
“arty” look and have been adopted by many designers as their primary tool. You
see their output in everything from cereal box designs to television show credits,
from business cards to newspapers. Macromedia Freehand, Adobe Illustrator,
and CorelDraw are some popular draw programs.

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Draw programs offer two big advantages over paint programs first, when objects
are created, they remain objects to the computer. After you draw a circle, you can
return to it later and move it intact by dragging it with the mouse, even if it has
been covered over with other shapes or lines. You can change the circle’s shape
into an oval, or you can fill its interior with a color, a blend of colors, or a pattern.
The other big advantage draw programs have is the capability to resize images
easily so that they match the dimensions of the paper on which they will be
printed. Because bitmap images are a grid of dots, the only way to control the
size of the image is to adjust the resolution, the number of dots per inch.
However, lowering the resolution to make an image larger can make the image
visibly rougher.
3-D Modeling Programs
Whether you are aware of it or not, you are constantly exposed to elaborate 3-D
imaging in movies, television, and print. Many of these images are now created
with a special type of graphics software called 3-D modeling software, which
enables user to create electronic models of three-dimensional objects without
using CAD software. Fast workstations or PCs coupled with 3-D modeling
programs can lend realism to even the most fantastic subjects. Professional 3-D
designers use sophisticated, expensive 3-D modeling programs such as 3-D
Studio MAX, Electric Image, SoftImage, Rau Dream Designer, and Light-Wave 3-
D.
Animation
An outgrowth of the 3-D explosion is computer-based animation. Since the
creation of filmmaking, animation was possible only through a painstaking
process of hand-drawing a series of images; and then filming them one by one.
Each filmed image is called a frame. When the film is played back at high speed
(usually around 30 frames per second for high-quality animation), the images
blur together to create the illusion of motion on t he screens. The process of
manually creating a short animation---even just a few second’ worth---can take
weeks of labor. A five-minute cartoon or a feature-length animated movie can
take months or even years to produce.
Graphics and the World Wide Web
Perhaps even more than 3-D design and animation, the World Wide Web has
aroused intense curiosity and interest in computer graphics. This is because
nearly anyone can create and post a Web page, and the World Wide Web can
supports many typed of graphics.
Further, by using basic paint and draw software as described earlier in this
chapter, it is easy to create or edit graphics for use on a Web page. Such graphics
include simple items such as bullets and horizontal rules, more complicated
images such as logos and complex artwork and photographs. If you have spent
any time surfing he Web, you may agree that graphic elements truly enhance the
viewing experience and can make even a simple page look elegant.

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Adding Graphics to a Web Page

Although a Web page might look like one big graphic, remember that most
pages are actually collections of graphics and text elements, combined by the
browser according to HTML tags embedded in the page’s content. If any
navigation buttons, icons, bullets, bars, or other graphics appear on the page,
they are separate graphics files that are being displayed at the same time.
When a Web page designer creates a Web page he or she usually begins by
adding the text elements to an HTML-format file. By surrounding the text
element with special codes----called HTML tags---the designer can cause
different pieces of text to be displayed in different ways by the Web browser.
Tags tell the Web browser what information to display and how to display it.
The designer can also add tags that tell the browser to display graphics, and a
single Web page can hold many individual graphics. On the Web server, the
designer must store all the graphics files required by the Web page. When the
user’s browser encounters the tags for a graphic, the server sends the graphic file
to the browser. At the user’s end, the HTML tags help the browser organize the
graphics, text, and other design elements on the page.