Regular raster images are made up of hundreds or thousands of tiny colored squares called pixels. Vector images are made up of points called nodes that are connected with lines and curves ("paths") through mathematical information that is contained in the file. This allows them to be stretched to any size without the blurring or distortion you would get by increasing the dimensions of a raster image. With illustration programs such as Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Fireworks or GIMP, you can create vector art for logos, fonts and scalable graphics.
Instructions
1. Open a blank file with "File" and "New" if you are going to be creating a new image from scratch. You also can turn an existing image into a vector by tracing over it; do this by pasting the image into a new file, locking that layer in the layer palette and adding a new layer to draw on.
2. Use the pen tool to draw or trace your illustration. The pen tool can take some practice to get the hang of, but it is vital to use it when creating a vector. Use as few points as possible and drag the anchor handles in the direction of the curve. Be sure to save your work frequently.
3. Adjust and correct your curves by choosing the direct select tool (white arrow) from the toolbox. Click the anchor points and use the handles to fine-tune your illustration. This allows you to smooth the lines, making the curves flow together well with no jagged points.
4. Create shapes with the rectangle and ellipse tools, then use effects such as warp, pucker and wrinkle to alter the paths to your liking. This is an alternative to drawing shapes by hand and is a great way to easily create abstract art.
5. Convert any text in your file to outlines by going to "Select" and "Select All" and then "Type" and "Create Outlines." You will no longer be able to edit the text, but it is a required step to ensure compatibility when transferring from one computer to another or printing.
6. Save your finished work in vector format by choosing "File" and "Save As" and "EPS," or "Illustrator EPS" if using Illustrator. EPS stands for Encapsulated PostScript, and it can be opened later for further editing.
7. Flatten the image to reduce the file size. Use "File" and "Save As" to save the image in a Web-ready format such as JPEG. If you need to change the file size, open the EPS file, change the dimensions, then save again in the Web-ready format.
