What Is a Vector Graphic?

Vector graphics, also known as object-oriented or drawing images, are mathematically defined as a series of points connected by lines. Graphic elements in a vector file are called objects. Each object is a self-contained entity with attributes such as color, shape, outline, size, and screen position.

The so-called vector graphics are graphics described using straight lines and curves. The elements that make up these graphics are points, lines, rectangles, polygons, circles, and arcs. They are all calculated by mathematical formulas and have no distortion after editing specialty. For example, the vector graphics of a painting are actually framed by line segments.

1. The file is small,

* .bw

It is a black and white graphic containing various pixel information

A vector diagram is a diagram represented by a series of calculation instructions, so the vector diagram is

Vector illustration initial stage

From

Butterfly vector

The first computer development from the 1950s to the 1980s used a different type of vector graphics system display. In these systems, the electron beam of the CRT display directly generates the required graphics segment by segment, and the rest of the screen remains black. In order to achieve the effect of no flicker or close to no flicker, this process is repeated many times per second. This display system can generate very high-resolution line art, and does not require the grid system to generate the huge memory space required for the same resolution. This vector-based display is called an XY display.

Vector illustration application industry

One of the first applications of vector graphics displays was the US SAGE air defense system. The vector graphics system only failed in the US air traffic control in 1999 and is still used in the military and some special systems. In addition, 1963 computer graphics pioneer Ivan Sutherland used a vector system to run his Sketchpad program on the TX-2 at the MIT Lincoln Laboratory.

Later vector graphics systems included Digital's GT40 [1]. There is a home game system called Vectrex that uses vector graphics. There are also game center games like Asteroids and Space Wars that also use vector graphics. Also worth mentioning is the Tektronix 4014, although its display is static.

Vector illustration developed so far

The term vector graphics is now mainly used in the field of two-dimensional computer graphics. It is one of several ways that artists can generate images on a grid display. Several other methods include text, multimedia, and 3D rendering. Essentially, all today's 3D rendering is an extension of 2D vector graphics technology. Plotters in the field of engineering drawing still draw vector graphics directly on drawings.