Seeing as how this is going to be my first (hopefully) educational/helpful post for Graphics Girl, I thought it only fitting that it be about a type of art I have a bit of a soft spot for: vectors! So, let’s start with the basics.

What exactly is a vector?

Vectors differ to other forms of graphics in a number of ways; whilst Bitmap images are stored as pixels, vectors are stored as lines via co-ordinates of starting and ending points. This means that not only do vector images take up less computer space, but they are also far easier to edit and scale than any other file type, mostly because scaling a vector does not result in pixellation or a reduction in quality. Vectors can be modified and tweaked with ease after their initial creation, whereas Bitmaps cannot. (The most common file extensions for vectors are .EPS and .SVG).

What type of art are vectors usually used for?

Images within vector art consist of numerous lines, points polygons and curves, and as such, are often synonymous with the cartoon-ish style,  which is often seen in comic strips. Depending on the attention to detail and patience of the artist in question, vector images can, alternatively, be incredibly realistic. It is also typically used for logos and signs due to it’s advantages in scaling. Research has shown that the brain sees and stores images similarly to how vector data is stored (ie: a series of points) as opposed to pixels, making vector images easier to remember – perhaps the reason as to why businesses generally favour the use of vectors over bitmaps for most of their graphics. A good example of an artist who uses vectors in both a stylized and semi-realistic manner is John Kelly.

 What kind of software is best for creating vectors?

Well, there’s a few. One of the most obvious being Photoshop (primarily speaking, the pen tool).  Adobe Illustrator is equally as good, and utilised more often than not for the creation of logos and logotypes and this is all very well and good if you can either afford it, or live with the guilt of obtaining them through less than legal means, but for those who can’t, Inkscape is basically the perfect solution. Open source, free to download, and does pretty much the same job, with a couple of handy little extras. Who doesn’t love free stuff?

 Getting started…

At some point over the next week I’ll produce a video tutorial which will cover the basics of how to navigate Inkscape (including layers and gradients), and create a simplistic vector portrait from scratch. Something not unsimilar to this, which was actually one of my first attempts at using Inkscape.