Understanding vector images and their characteristics

A vector image is an image that results from a combination of points and lines with a mathematical formula, thus forming a polygon depicting a particular image object. The location of a vector image is called control points or nodes, where the location of each point has a definite position based on the x and y axes of a work plane. In a vector image of each line or point, various attributes can be added such as shape, line thickness, curves, line color, and fill color.

To create vector images on a computer, we can use graphic design applications that are quite popular among computer friends, such as Corel Draw, Adobe Illustrator, Macromedia FreeHand, or Corel Designer. Objects that can be generated from vector images include squares, circles, triangles, polygons for 2 D images, and spheres, cubes, pyramids, tubes for 3 D vector images.

Characteristics of Vector Images

Vector images have the following characteristics

1. Vector images are formed from a combination of individual objects consisting of points, lines, and colors.
2. Image size does not affect the quality of the displayed image, because it does not depend on image resolution.
3. Has a relatively small size
4. It is scalable so it won’t break when the image is enlarged
5. The resulting image display is less real and natural, so it cannot be used to produce realistic photo images.
6. When displayed on the monitor screen requires a long process.

Read also: Understanding graphic design and its types