Graphics and Design

Type of graphics software

Computer graphics are pictures created , changed or processed by computers. There are two categories.

1. Bitmapped graphics represent images as bitmaps; they are stored as pixels and can become a bit distored when they are manipulated. The density of dots, know as the resolution and expressed in dots per inch, determines how sharp the image is.

2. Vector graphics represent images as mathermatical formulac, so they can be changed or scaled without lisong quality. They are ideal for high-resolution output.

There are different types of graphics sofware.

* Image manipulation programs let you edit your favourite images. For example, you can scan a picture into your PC or tranfer a photo from your camera and then add different effects, or filters.

* Painting and drawing programs, also called illustration packages, offer facilities for freehand drawing, with a wide choice of pens and brushes, colours and patterns. One example is Windows Paint.

* Business graphics programs, also called presentation software , let you create pie charts,bar charts and line graphs of all kinds for slide shows and reports. You can import data from a database or spreadsheet to generate the graphs.

* computer-aided design (CAD) is used by engineers and architects to design everything from cars and planes to building and furniture. First they make a wireframe, a drawing with edges and contour lines. Then if they want to colour the objects and add texture, they create a surface for the object; this is called filling the surface. Finally, the design is rendered to make the object look realistic. Rendering is a process than adds realism to graphics by using shading, light sources and reflections.

Desktop publishing (DTP) is based around a page layout program, which lets you import text from a word processor, clip-art (ready made pictures) from graphics packages, and images from scanners or cameras and arrange them all on a page. It is used to  design and publish books, newspapers, posters, advertisements etc.

*Digital art, or computer art, is done with applets than use mathematical formulae to create beautiful bright shapes called fractals. A fractal is a geometrical figure with special properties, e.g. the Koch snowflake or the Mandelbrot set. Fractals can also be used to model real objects like clouds, coastlines or landscapes.

*Computers animation uses graphics programs (e.g. digital cartooning system ) to create or edit moving pictures. Each image in a sequence of images is called a frame.

* Geographic information system (GIS) allow cartographers to create detailed maps.