Raster Vs Vector Graphics

The Tuesday Tutorial, one day late.

RASTER GRAPHICS

Raster graphics, also known as bitmap graphics, are made from points of color called pixels.

Raster graphics are resolution dependent – this means it cannot be scaled larger without losing quality.

The standard resolution of a screen image, the images you see on the Internet, is 72 pixels per inch or ppi. Meaning there are 72 individual points of color in each inch of your image.

The standard printing resolution is 300 dots per inch or dpi. PPI and DPI are the same thing because a pixel is the electronic version of a printed dot. I will always default to dpi because I work in the print world.

If you tried to get 72 points of color to make the same image as 300 points of color you wouldn’t get too far. The image would be blurry or pixelated, which means the images is jagged because can see each individual point of color instead of a smooth line. In the print world 72 dpi is considered low resolution or low rez and 300 dpi is considered high resolution or hi rez.

VECTOR GRAPHICS

There is no resolution in vector graphics because they do not use pixels, they use the dreaded MATH. Computer software that creates vector graphics, like Adobe Illustrator or Silhouette Studio, relies on a mathematical formula to create lines. A single vector is a line, either straight or arced between two points.

Vector images can be scaled without losing quality so vector based programs like Adobe Illustrator are used to create logos. They can be scaled down for business cards and blown up for billboards.

The Silhouette studio operates at a resolution of 72 dpi. If you import something that is hi res into a low res environment or document it will come in HUGE, 417% larger than you expected to be exact, because there are so many pixels. On the other hand a low res images that is added into a high res document will be a tiny 24% of its original size because there are so few pixels.

The Silhouette Studio software uses vector graphics because just like you can’t cut a dot, the Silhouette can’t cut a pixel. If you import an image into the Silhouette Studio software for a print and cut you will need to use the trace tool to create cut lines.

So what have we learned today? 

Pixels are points of color that can be printed but not cut. High resolution images are for printing, low resolution images are for the web. Vector images use the dreaded MATH to create lines that can be printed on a printer and cut with the Silhouette. Vector images can be scaled up or down without losing quality.

Hopefully you have a better understand of the difference between raster and vector images and when and how they are used. If you have any questions post them on the blog or on YouTube. I will respond to them not only on the blog or YouTube but also in your email box if it’s included because I don’t like to have to go back and look for the answers to my questions and I doubt you do either.

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Happy Crafting,

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Click here to help my son pay his own way through scouts. Order Trail's End popcorn using code 79936evan674 and great tasting treats will be delivered to your door.

In loving memory

My father battled lung cancer and emphysema for six months. He passed away on Saturday, June 23 while I was trying to download "The 59th Street Bridge Song" (aka "Feelin' Groovy") so I could play it for him. It was a song he used to sing to us a lot when we were kids. I told the nurse if I couldn't find it I was going to have to sing it to him. When I looked up from my iPhone he had stopped breathing. Maybe he didn't want to hear me sing.

I wanted to write something to read at the funeral - not happening at a Catholic mass. Or at the funeral home, but I just couldn't read it or stand to have someone else read it for me then. I've decided to post it here and share with the world about the amazing man I called, "Dad".

Our definition of a blessing is not always God’s definition. If we don’t get what we want we may think that God doesn’t love us or worst that he doesn’t exist. But we know God only works for our good and that he is always blessing us.

My dad was a blessing to all who knew him. You may have been blessed to have him as your grade school chauffeur or your drinking buddy after a few hours of working on a house but my sister and I were supremely blessed to have him as our father.

He liked to watch sports but his favorite team was always the ones we played on. He liked to work on houses and make things with wood. But he LOVED people, especially his family. He showed his love in his actions big and small. Dad was a devout Catholic and rarely missed mass. During the Lord’s Prayer he always held hands with the person next to him and after the prayer was over he’d give a little squeeze. That squeeze meant, “I love you”. I will miss that squeeze.

My favorite times with my dad were when we just spent time together being goofy, whether it was letting us style his hair when they were little or enjoying the dork-fest that was a night of joking around. Being with him was just fun. Lining up cereal boxes across the dining room table and using the palms of our hands as paddles for an afternoon of ping pong didn’t seem odd with dad. 

Dad being goofy. This is the only video we have of him and it is the best thing on my iPhone.

People admired his dedication to his mother when he quit his job so he could care for her at the end of her life. He spent weeks at a time caring for my son at the beginning of his life and again over the past year. Some called him a saint for picking up his life and taking care of his dying sister for a year and a half.

Dad was uncomfortable with this praise and especially the title of saint because to him he thought he was being quite selfish. Spending time with his family and caring for them was the only place he wanted to be.

But Dad didn’t just love his family, he was interested in all people. He liked to hear their stories and listened with an intensity that made them feel important. If you needed help he was there.

Volunteer at bingo? Sure.
Install a dishwasher?  OK.
Teach Vietnamese refugees to drive? No problem.
A ride to the hospital? Hop in.
Pay rent to me a bit late? Well if you have to.
Build a house? Sounds like fun.
Watch a kid? Any time

Dad’s passing does not feel like a blessing now, I don’t know that it ever will to us. God blessed us with a great father and the ability to be there for him at the end. He showed my dad mercy in the end because he never suffered with any pain.

Happy Crafting,

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Opera Company of Philadelphia "Hallelujah!" Random Act of Culture

They call it a Random Act of Culture. I love that they chose this song of all the songs to sing because it was also a Random Act of Evangelization. Singing praises to God next to someone wearing devil's horns as they apply high price cosmetics. Awesome.

I imagine being in a dressing room trying on new duds and all of a sudden hearing angels sing.

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Birthday party treat pics soon. Promise.

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Happy Crafting,

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Friday Funny "Let's go play 'it'."

I couldn't resist this is too funny. Apologies for their vulgar language.

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Hope you have a great Friday.

Happy Crafting,
Katie

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Click here to help my son pay his own way through scouts.
Order Trail's End popcorn using code 79936evan674
and great tasting treats will be delivered to your door.