File types pro forma

1. Digital Graphics
File Formats
Sian England

2. Raster Graphics
• Give a definition of Raster Graphics
Raster graphics are made up of bitmaps which are tiny pixels that record
colour information. Images that use raster graphics tend to lead to distortion
when resizing. The amount of megapixels on a camera (14 megapixels =
14,000,000) are tiny megapixels which separates the image into squares,
which is the same as raster graphics. The most popular file types of raster
graphics are JPEG, TIFF, GIF and BMP.

3. Vector Graphics
• Give a definition of Vector Graphics
Vector graphics are made up of different vectors/paths/strokes. Vector
graphics are defined by start and end points with curves, points and angles
between them. A path in vector graphics can be a line, square, triangle or a
curvy shape. Vector graphics can be scaled large or small without distortion,
which makes it perfect for company logos, as it can be large on a billboard, or
tiny on a business card without making the image look distorted or pixelated.
The most popular file types of Vector Graphics are PSD, AI, FLA and WMF.

4. Raster Graphics

5. JPEG
Stands For Joint Photographic Experts Group
Used For/Example It is used for photographs and web
formats. An example of it being used is
photographs on Facebook would be JPEGs.
Advantage A JPEG file size is very small in comparison
to other files such as PSDs and TIFFs,
therefore you wouldn’t need as much
storage space.
Disadvantage A disadvantage of using JPEGs is that the
image will lose quality with multiple edits
due to the compression of the image.

6. TIFF
Stands For Tagged Image File Format
Used For/Example TIFFs are used for desktop publishing
which is popular with graphic designers.
Adobe InDesign is an example of where
TIFF files are used.
Advantage An advantage of using TIFF files is that in
Adobe InDesign, you can save multiple
page documents to a single TIFF file. Also,
TIFF files have the option of lossless
compression which means it doesn’t lose
quality.
Disadvantage A disadvantage of using TIFF files is that
the file sizes are quite large, meaning you
would require more storage space.

7. GIF
Stands For Graphics Interchange Format
Used For/Example GIFs are small digital animations that play
in a loop. May be seen on multiple social
media sites.
Advantage It creates the appearance of a video when
it is just a series of images playing in a
loop, which means that the file sizes
would be smaller than an actual video file.
Disadvantage A disadvantage of GIFs is that the quality
of the file can sometimes be quite poor,
and can cause lagging between the images
which reduces the appearance of it being
a video file.

8. BMP
Stands For Bitmap Image Files
Used For/Example BMPs is a commonly used raster graphic
that saves image files.
Advantage An advantage of using BMPs is that there
is no loss in quality as the BMP saves the
images through colour information and it
saves the pixel information, instead of
compressing the image.
Disadvantage A disadvantage of BMPs is that it has a
large file size, which means if you are using
them, you would require a lot more
storage space.

9. Vector Graphics

10. PSD
Stands For Photoshop Document
Used For/Example PSDs are used for image manipulation, and
an example of that would be front covers
for magazines.
Advantage An advantage of PSDs is that it saves
layers, page formatting and swatches etc,
meaning you can continue with your work
at a later date and everything will be the
same as you left it. Also, PSDs support
transparency which is also an advantage.
Disadvantage A disadvantage of PSDs is that they have
large file sizes, meaning you would need
more storage space if you chose to use
them.

11. AI
Stands For Adobe Illustrator Art
Used For/Example Commonly used for the creation of logos.
Advantage An advantage of using Adobe Illustrator
files are that they can be scaled to any size
without any loss in definition.
Disadvantage An AI file requires certain software to
open the file, which can be difficult when
sharing files with others.

12. FLA
Stands For Flash File
Used For/Example Flash files are used to create animations
and games.
Advantage An advantage of Flash files is that they are
very high quality but also have a very small
file size, which includes sound and video.
Disadvantage A disadvantage is that only certain
software can open FLA files as they are
specialist files.

13. WMF
Stands For Windows Metafile
Used For/Example Used to create logos, which can be used
for companies and brands.
Advantage An advantage of WMF files is that they can
be scaled big and small, without any loss
of definition or quality. They also contain
components of bitmap and vector
graphics.
Disadvantage WMF files are only accessible on Windows
platforms, which means not everybody
may be able to access these files.

14. File Format Capture
and Optimising

15. Compression
Definition Lossy compression is the way in which file
sizes are reduced and the amount of
information that is saved.
Advantage The main advantage of compression is that
it reduces the file size meaning less
storage is required to save the file.
Disadvantage Images become more pixelated as they are
saved as they are compressed because
they save smaller amounts of coloured
squares each time.

16. Image Capture
Method Scanner
How is it used for image capture of
graphics
You can digitalise physical images like
sketches, photos, or mixed media
products.
Method Camera
How is it used for image capture of
graphics
Light enters the lens of a camera which
gets projected onto a sensor which records
the individual pixels of colour
Method Graphics Tablet
How is it used for image capture of
graphics
A graphics tablet is used for drawing and
illustration which allows the cursor to be
used by a pen.

17. Optimising
Why would you optimise? Images that are uploaded to the internet
are optimised to ensure easy viewing.
How can you optimise? You can optimise an image by reducing the
file size, by reducing the bit depth, by
reducing the resolution, or by compressing
an image.
Advantage to optimising An image that has been optimised can be
downloaded at a much faster speed than
images that are not optimised.
Disadvantage to optimising Optimising an image reduces the amount
of pixel information within an image,
which means poorer quality images.

18. Storage

19. File Size
What could affect a Working Scale
(Photoshop) document file size?
Pixel dimensions and the amount of
layers of an image effect the file size.
How could you reduce the file size of a
Working Scale document without
affecting quality?
You can reduce the file size of a document
by saving it as a different file such as a
TIFF.
What is an advantage of scaling up images
before exporting?
Scaling up images before exporting allows
images to be resized without losing
quality.
What is a disadvantage of scaling up
images before exporting?
Scaling up images makes the file harder to
send or publish.

20. File Naming Conventions
What naming conventions could you use
when creating your video game assets?
• When naming a file it is better to give
it a proper name than Untitled.
• It is better to name them something
related to the image, or in this case
video game assets.
• Also, placing each file in a related
folder makes navigation much easier.
Why is it a good idea to accurately name
your assets?
Accurately naming assets makes
navigation much easier when looking
through files and also reduces confusion.

21. Asset Management
Why would you use folders when storing
your assets?
Using folders when storing assets would
help with finding the correct files and
wouldn’t get mixed with other files.
What folders would you create and what
would you save within them
• I would create separate folders for
different types of edits and also
different projects I am working on.