September 17, 2011
Pixel v. Vector
In digital imaging, there are two basic styles, Raster and Vector images. Raster images are images that your computer stores as numbers and pixels, or tiny squares of color. Vector images however, are resolution independent and your computer instead stores them as tiny mathematic points, or dot to dot. I have been asked to find an image and then determine if it is pixel based or a vector image, and then answer four basic questions about the image itself. Through the following paragraphs, I will answer those questions using a very interesting picture that I have chosen.
This particular image is interesting to me simply because I don’t quite understand the inspiration or how I would even describe the way that it makes me feel to give my personal interpretation. There is a certain sense of foreboding mystery about the picture, and though I can’t quite put my finger on it, the image greatly intrigues me. Something that I was able to tell right away was that this image is pixel based.
I was able to tell this right away not by sight, but by the dimensions that it gives me at the bottom of the picture (600x400psi). Setting that given aside and going back to try and determine the style by observation, I was able to tell that the image was pixel based by noticing, with a few small exceptions, that there are a very large sequence of blended colors and there are no solid shapes with solid colors that fill them. However, I will say that before I found this image, I found it a bit difficult to distinguish the difference in the previous images that I looked at.
As far as giving my ideas on how to design an image such as this, if I am allowed to be honest, I would not even remotely know how to design something so seemingly complex to my mind. I am sure that is due to my lack of knowledge on the art of digital imaging. Through study and a very determined mind, I certainly hope that I will attain the knowledge and skill that it requires to do this type of design.
I have found, after spending a fair amount of time to examine the image, that I am very intrigued and find this particular style of art very interesting and beautiful. As I stated previously, I can’t quite find an accurate way to understand the inspiration behind this image. That sense of not knowing combined with the fact I am unexplainable drawn helped me to realize that I am very excited to learn and become more familiar with this style of imaging. I am human and the need to learn that which I do not know is almost a necessity in my heart. It may be too early to tell, but by viewing this seemingly simplistic setting and complex blend of neutral colors, I feel I may have found the direction in which I would like to take my personal style of digital imaging.