Photoshop Help

Home > My Help Pages > Photoshop > Photoshop Tips Tricks 3
-----

Bitmap Images - Source from Photoshop Help
Vector Graphics
How to 'Place' Vector Graphics Photoshop File Tutorial

Computer Graphics fall into two main categories--Bitmap and Vector. You can work with both types of graphics in Photoshop and Image Ready, CorelDraw and CorelPaint, Illustrator and other CAD Programs; moreover, a Photoshop file can contain both bitmap and vector data. Understanding the difference between the two categories helps as you create, edit, and import artwork.

Bitmap images

Bitmap images--technically called raster images--use a grid of colors known as pixels to represent images. Each pixel is assigned a specific location and color value. For example, a bicycle tire in a bitmap image is made up of a mosaic of pixels in that location. When working with bitmap images, you edit pixels rather than objects or shapes.

Bitmap images are the most common electronic medium for continuous-tone images, such as photographs or digital paintings, because they can represent subtle gradations of shades and color. Bitmap images are resolution-dependent--that is, they contain a fixed number of pixels. As a result, they can lose detail and appear jagged if they are scaled on-screen or if they are printed at a lower resolution than they were created for.
Bitmaps include terms as Jpeg, Gif, PNG, Tiff and other 'flat' images.

Vector graphics

Vector graphics are made up of lines and curves defined by mathematical objects called vectors. Vectors describe an image according to its geometric characteristics. For example, a bicycle tire in a vector graphic is made up of a mathematical definition of a circle drawn with a certain radius, set at a specific location, and filled with a specific color. You can move, resize, or change the color of the tire without losing the quality of the graphic.

Vector graphics are resolution-independent--that is, they can be scaled to any size and printed at any resolution without losing detail or clarity. As a result, vector graphics are the best choice for representing bold graphics that must retain crisp lines when scaled to various sizes--for example, logos.
NOTE: We only use Photoshop for photos, Every time we make a sign, we use our drawing programs to create sharp texts, logos and art.

How to 'Place' Vector Graphics into a Photoshop File Tutorial 1.

There are many ways to in effect import other file formats into a Photoshop File, typically, we mainly use two methods, Place EPS, and Place PDF.

For switching layers, cut and paste etc, our computer systems and setups are capable of large files so this is not discussed here.

Placing an .EPS file into your document and Why?

When you place and .eps file into your document, you can create a path and selection from that .eps. This make your functionality greater. If your not yet experienced with creating paths, you should practice a little more. Paths are a wonderful function of Photoshop.
Having said that, you can create better paths in Illustrator or CorelDraw. Photoshop is harder to weld or combine, trim, node adjust etc than software programs that are predominantly dedicated to vector graphics.

Tutorial Step 1.
Download this simple file on-sale-angle-1.eps 
When download is complete, Save to a folder on your system.

OR

Tutorial: Step 1 - Your File.

Open or create a simple line drawing in Corel or Illustrator that is no bigger than 20mm high and 20mm wide. For example Draw a Red Box with White Text that says "HI". Select both the box and text, then, Choose > Combine. In Corel or Illustrator, you should have a red box and the letters should be white or transparent. Save or Export the file into a folder with an extension of .eps - example.. hi.eps You can also download our file on-sale-angle-1.eps file for the tutorial below.

Step 2. Open Photoshop, create a new file 900 px by 900 px 72 dpi with a transparent background in Layer Format. Click and drag in a few rulers a few centimeters from the edge.

Step 3. Choose > File > Place > on-sale-angle-1.eps

The Red Shape with the words "Sale On This Month" will appear on the screen with grab handles.

Don't hit Enter or another tool bar just yet, you can see what happens to the placed image first with a few movement shown below.

1. Try this, Using your mouse, Dont use the grab handles yet, instead, inside the bounding box, click and drag the placed item around the canvas to move it.

2. Try this, Using your mouse, Grab any of the Grab Handles and move around a bit.

3. Try this, Hold down the Shift Key. This will constrain the image to proportional sizing.

4. Try this, Hold down the Ctrl Key. This will lock the opposite angled grab handle. Great for putting the corner against a ruler or part of picture and manipulating the rest of the image.

5. Try this, In the middle of the Placed Image, you can see a small circle target. This if for rotation. Using your mouse, slightly away from the grab handles, watch as the curser turns to a 'rotate' function.

6. Try this, Move the Centre Rotation Target, then move your mouse over the grab handles to rotate, the image will now have a new centre rotation point.

Try this, Using your mouse, Scale the placed file to almost the same size as your 900 x 900 pixel canvas. You will notice that you have not lost any resolution, even though the original placed image is very small.

This is the greatest advantage of vector graphics in Photoshop, retention of resolution.

To call the placement into action, click on any one of the toolbar items. This will request a question 'Place The File', if your happy, click Place. Alternatively, you can also just hit enter on the keyboard.

The Placed Image is now a layer. You can continue to manipulate by choosing > Edit > Transform.

To make into a pixel format > Right click on the Layer Dialog Box > Rasterize Layer

END

Another Great Tutorial, How to Make Paths In Photoshop >

 

Go to the next page of Photoshop Tips and Tricks 4