This document discusses different types of digital graphics file formats including raster graphics, vector graphics, and various file formats like JPEG, TIFF, GIF, BMP, PSD, AI, FLA, and WMF. It provides details on what each file format stands for, examples of how it is used, advantages, and disadvantages. It also covers topics like raster vs vector graphics, compression, image capture methods using scanners, cameras, and graphics tablets, and optimizing images by reducing file size to improve website loading speeds.

1. Digital Graphics
File Formats
Samuel Woodhouse

2. Raster Graphics
• Raster Graphics are digitally created images
that are made up of bitmaps. Bitmaps are
made up of tiny rectangular pixels inside of a
grid which contains both an x and y axis. The
pixels are then located on co-ordinates inside
this grid. Each pixel contains the colour
information for that specific section.
Bitmapped images have a fixed resolution,
which means that when they are enlarged,
they can become very pixelated and distorted.
Raster images can be created when something
is being scanned.

3. Vector Graphics
• Vector graphics are made up of vectors
(paths/strokes). They have a start poit and an
end point, and they use geometric shape
formulas in order to represent images and fill
in the gaps. They can be used in things such as
logo's for companies and they often have a
very low file size. They don't lose quality, even
after being enlarged, so you could enlarge a
vector to whatever size you wanted, whether
it be a billboard or a business card.

4. http://www.brachadesigns.com/design/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/raster_vs_vector.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c
ommons/thumb/6/6b/Bitmap_VS_SVG.s
vg/2000px-Bitmap_VS_SVG.svg.png

5. Raster Graphics

6. JPEGStands For Joint Photographic experts Group
Used For/Example JPEG’s are used to compress images
in order to keep the file size low. They
are used in photography to capture a
large number of images and on web
pages, such as facebook to keep the
website running at a fast speed.
Advantage The file size is low, which means more
images can be stored and that a
website/computer may be able to run
faster. They are stored as full colour
images and have large compression
ratios. The images are usually good
quality. JPEG’s are a universal file and
can be opened almost anywhere.
Disadvantage JPEG's tend to lose quality over time
due to compression and
recompression. Each time an image is
saved, less pixels will be saved in
order to keep the size of the file low.
Also, layers can not be saved, as the
image is only saved as one full image.

7. TIFF
Stands For Tagged Image File Format
Used For/Example TIFF’s can be used for swapping raster
graphics (BITMAP images) through different
programs. They can be used when
scanning certain images. They are
commonly used in desktop publishing. Also
Adobe Indesign documents are often saved
as TIFF’s
Advantage They can be compressed in order to
reduce file size. They do this by using
specific mathematic algorithms. These
mean that no image data gets lost, which is
lossless compression.
TIFF’s are compatible with both MAC and
PC’s. TIFF’s can also save multi page
documents.
Disadvantage The size of TIFF files tend to be large, as
they can store so much information,
therefore a large storage device will be
needed to store the images. The majority of
websites and online image galleries don’t
support TIFF files, they prefer to use file
formats such as JPEG.

8. GIF
Stands For Graphics Interchange Format
Used For/Example GIF’s are most commonly used to store
short, animations that are made up of a
series of photos playing on a loop.
Advantage They have a small file size as they are
compressed files, this helps them to be
easily viewed online. GIF files are also
useful as they show movement, which
is better than a still image in some
cases. They are fairly easy to create.
Disadvantage GIF's are usually in bad quality and
they come across as very pixelated.
This is partially caused by their colour
palette that only contains 256 colours.
Once saved, the GIF can’t be edited
again.

9. BMP
Stands For bitmap image file
Used For/Example They are used when saving image
files. They are used for printable
images, as they produce high quality
products.
Advantage Bitmap Image files are very versatile.
They can be used on many different
programs on both MAC and PC's. They
store colour data for each individual
pixel, which results in crisp,high quality
graphics.
Disadvantage They are very large files, due to the
large amount of image information, so
therefore they take up a lot of storage
space. Due to their large file size,
websites tend to use JPEG's and other
file types more often.

10. Vector Graphics

11. PSD
Stands For Photoshop Document
Used For/Example This file format is used primarily for Adobe
Photoshop. However it can also be used in
other Adobe products, such as After Effects
and Premiere. They can be used for image
manipulation and magazine covers can be
created using these documents.
Advantage The advantages of PSD files are that they
retain the layer information. Also they don’t
compress the image file, so this means that
they keep the same quality of the image. They
also contain all of the original image data, such
as layers, when they are saved. Therefore they
can easily be re-edited later. Images can also
be saved without a background.
Disadvantage PSD’s can have a large file size, as the
images aren’t compressed. This can take up
lots of storage space. Also there are
sometimes compatibility issues with older
Adobe products, after using more recent
Adobe software. Not only that, but PSD files
are only compatible with other Adobe products.

12. AI
Stands For Adobe Illustrator
Used For/Example They are used a lot in print media for
artwork and vector-based drawings. AI files
are saved as Vectors. They are used by
designers to create things for companies,
such as cartoons, logos and illustrations.
Advantage They can be opened in programs like Adobe
Acrobat and any other PDF reader.
The files are vector based, so no matter
what size the image is, it won't lose quality
and become pixelated.
Disadvantage An AI file requires specialist software to
open the file. This means that they can only
be viewed on some occasions.

13. FLA
Stands For Flash File Format
Used For/Example These are movie or animation files that have been
created using the Adobe Flash product. Very high
quality animations can be made using these files.
They are used for creating animations and games.
Advantage
Reference :
Michael Bluejay. (2007). Video file
formats for the web compared. Available:
http://websitehelpers.com/video/format
s.html. Last accessed 30th Nov 2015.
These files work equally as well on PC's and
MAC's and any other devices. “More users have
flash installed than any other media player”, so
more of them could view a file in this format.
They are high quality files, yet they can have a low
file size. This means that they can be used on
websites without slowing them down too much.
These files can include both video and sound.
Disadvantage The files are very complex, and include a lot of
information, so therefore they can take up a lot of
storage space depending on certain circumstances.
Only limited software can run these files.

14. WMF
Stands For Windows Metafile
Used For/Example A WMF is a graphics file format. They are
used to store vector and bitmap information
in memory, for playback later on. They can
be used when creating logos and clipart.
Advantage They can contain both vector and bitmap
information. They make the most out of the
resolution of the output device. Can be
resized with no distortion that can occur when
resizing bitmaps.
Disadvantage Not many application are available that allow
editing to take place on metafiles.
WMF's are only available on Windows
platforms.

15. File Format Capture
and Optimising

16. Compression
Definition Compression is when a digital file is reduced
in size. By doing this, you change the way
that the data is coded. As a result of
compression, more memory becomes
available.
Advantage The file size is reduced, which frees up more
memory. Due to a small file size,
compressed files can usually be easy to send
via email, and they can be used on
webpages, without slowing them down too
much.
Disadvantage The quality of the file will decrease. Images
may come across as more pixelated, due to
the fact that some of the image information
(layer information etc.) can be lost and that
less pixels are saved each time. Colour
information can also be lost/changed.

17. Image Capture
Method Scanner
How is it used for image capture of graphics They scan products, and pick up text, handwriting,
imagery and objects, like paper and in doing so,
they create a digital image, which is usually then
edited and viewed on a computer. They are
generally used for flat objects/documents as
opposed to 3D objects.
Method Camera
How is it used for image capture of graphics Camera's are used to capture digital images. They
use an electronic image sensor to do so. They tend
to be portable, so using a camera, the photographer
can take a photograph of almost anything. Cameras
are used to capture 3D images, such as landscapes
or family photographs.
Method Graphics Tablet
How is it used for image capture of
graphics
This device allows users to hand draw images,
similarly to drawing on paper. However it is digital, so
the images are easily edited and usually come across
as more professional. By using one of these you
personally create a piece of artwork, rather than
having the device create it for you. Using one of these
you could draw or trace a piece of artwork and transfer
it to your computer.

18. Optimising
Why would you optimise? You would optimise an image for a website
in order to reduce the file size, so that the
website can then run faster. This would
mean that people can easily look at the
image on a website.
How can you optimise? To optimise an image you can use image
editing software such as Adobe photoshop
to change the image dimensions. In adobe
photoshop you would change the ‘image
size’ and make sure that the image width
was no larger than 500 pixels wide. You can
also change the bit depth and the
resolution.
Advantage to optimising Optimising an image can reduce the time it
takes to download it. It does this by
reducing the file size. If an image is
optimised, it can help to make a website run
faster, due to it’s low file size.
Disadvantage to optimising If you optimise an image, pixel information
is lost. And after optimising you can not get
that information back.

19. Storage

20. File Size
What could affect a Working Scale
(Photoshop) document file size?
If there is a lot of information on the
document, such as layers and colour
information, the file size will be larger.
How could you reduce the file size of a
Working Scale document without
affecting quality?
You could convert the file to a lossless
format, which would reduce the file
size, without losing much, if any
quality.
What is an advantage of scaling up
images before exporting?
Scaling an image to be smaller before
exporting, may be a good thing as
some websites don’t allow large
images, as they take up a lot of room.
What is a disadvantage of scaling up
images before exporting?
If an image is scaled up too big before
exporting, the image may lose quality
and become pixelated. The file size
may also become large and take up a
lot of memory space.

21. File Naming Conventions
What naming conventions could you use
when creating your video game assets?
When creating files, the names should
include a short description of what the
file is. It should also include a date of
when I saved the file, and it should also
include the creator's name.
Why is it a good idea to accurately name
your assets?
It’s a good idea to name your files, so
that when looking for the file next time,
it is easy to find if you follow these
conventions each time.

22. Asset Management
Why would you use folders when storing
your assets?
When storing files, folders can be used
to keep everything organised. Each
folder can represent either a date, or a
project that you’ve been working on.
This way, files are easy to find. Using
folders can make finding work a lot
quicker and easier.
What folders would you create and what
would you save within them
I would create a Media folder to hold all
of my Media coursework. In that folder
would be four other folders; Print based
media, Photography, Video games,
Work Related Learning and Video. In
each of these folders I would include
either weekly folders, or a folder or
each different project for that specific
unit of work. For example, I would save
my rotoscoping work, in the rotoscope
folder in my print based media folder.