In computer science , 2D digital images are divided into two large categories as they are made: pixels and vectors and there are great differences between the two formats, especially from a visual point of view. Pixel images were invented 50 years ago and are not much different from then, except for the number of visible and printable pixels which is enormously higher today. Pixels are the individual elements from which a digital image is formed in a system based on a grid of colors and shades.
Raster or Bitmap (which has nothing to do with bmp) are the terms used to identify all the images within this model (even the JPG); rasterization is the process by which vector images are transformed into pixel-based digital images. If the pixels are blocks of an image divided into points on the screen, the vectors are geometric shapes, points, lines, curves and polygons on an algebraic grid. These shapes, points, lines, curves and polygons are called "primitives", and together they are the foundations of vector graphics.
The important difference between pixels and vectors is that the vectors are different from each other while the pixels are all the same size and have a clearly defined position. When you zoom in on a shape of a vector image, you cannot distinguish the individual points of that element.
The consequence of this is that vector images are independent of image resolution. Raster images are poorly defined when they are low resolution or if they describe an image with few pixels. Vector images, on the other hand, can be enlarged or stretched without loss of quality and with colors that remain bright and bright .
Just to understand, if you download a low resolution JPG photo and try to enlarge it or change the proportions of length and width, it is increasingly grainy or distorted. If you convert it into a vector image, with a program that works with this kind of file, it can be enlarged without problems, without loss of quality.
The flash animations contained in all websites and online advertisements are the most visible example of vector images. Icons, company logos and abstract figures are always vector images. In Typography you always work with vector graphics because the images are cleaner and more defined, scalable and resizable without loss of quality. Many artists prefer to create their works of digital graphics in vectors because it allows very clean lines.
Standard billboard or magazine advertising uses vector graphics.
Pixels remain the standard for digital photography.
How to create vector images
Creating a vector image is for those who need to design a logo, an inscription, a symbol, a brand and so on. It is also used to enlarge or rotate small images, without losing visual quality (for example to print them on a shirt), to rotate them or to give graphic effects to photos (such as the Che Guevara symbol). For example, those unfamiliar with digital graphics could draw their logo on paper and then scan it to see it on the computer screen. In order to use it and publish it on the internet or to create a cover of some kind, this image must be vectorized to see it well.The free Inkscape program is the main software used to create vector images and to convert photos or raster or bitmap images into vectors . I do not say that it is easy to use Inkscape but, thanks to a completely Italian interface and the availability of very detailed manuals, it remains within everyone's reach.
For example, to transform a Bitmap image into a vector image, just go to the File -> Import menu, choose any image, even jpg, from the computer and import it into Inkscape. Select the image, resize it as you wish, go to the menu Path -> Vector Bitmap .
Still with the image selected, from Multiple Scans, set Color with 16 scans and press OK . Select the image again, go to Path -> Simplify . You can also choose to remove the background and eliminate borders and outlines with the function that divides the group. At the end, you can delete the raster image and save the vector image with svg file or in png format (making it return bitmap).
A simpler and free program that does the conversion between bitmap image and vector image is RasterVect Free Edition . It offers a convenient wizard for converting one or more images together. The program also offers a number of editing, drawing, masking, screen capture and many other tools. The colors will be significantly reduced, maximum 32 colors but it is not a limitation but rather a property of the vector images. The paid version also allows the conversion of the contours of the central lines.
An even better but paid program is Vector Magic which then provides a free online tool to create even large vector images starting from small images and photos. The online tool can only be used once for free.
Excellent and free is the tool on Icon8.com, with a tool called Vector Creator that allows anyone, in a simple way, to create professional illustrations starting from a vast library of ready-made vector drawings, created by professional illustrators. The vector images can be downloaded in PNG format (SVG only by paying the PRO version).
Another free site for vectorizing images automatically, but with less satisfactory results, is Vectorizer.io .
The best program to create vector images, but for a fee, is Adobe Illustrator, used by professionals in the sector.
Finally, I point out the WinTopo Free program, always to convert raster and create vector images also from photos .
READ ALSO: Online alternative to Illustrator for vector graphics
The best sites to find and download vector images are:
1) Vecteezy
3) Vectorish
4) QVectors
5) Vector Portal
6) Brands Of the world with the brands of the main companies in the world.
7) Cool Vectors
