Page 12 - DCAP109_GRAPHIC_TOOLS

Unit 1: Computer as a Design Tool

Space Wars. Storage scope displays, such as the Tektronix 4014, could display vector images but Notes
not modify them without first erasing the display.
Modern vector graphics displays can sometimes be found at laser light shows, where two fast-
moving X-Y mirrors are used to rapidly draw shapes and text on a screen.
The term “vector graphics” is mainly used today in the context of two-dimensional computer
graphics. It is one of several modes an artist can use to create an image on a raster display. Other
modes include text, multimedia, and 3D rendering. Virtually all modern 3D rendering is done
using extensions of 2D vector graphics techniques. Plotters used in technical drawing still draw
vectors directly to paper.

Did u know? JPEGs lose quality every time they are opened, edited and saved.

Vector Operations

Vector graphics editors typically allow rotation, movement, mirroring, stretching, skewing,
affine transformations, changing of z-order and combination of primitives into more complex
objects.
More sophisticated transformations include set not operations on closed shapes (union, difference,
intersection, etc.).
Vector graphics are ideal for simple or composite drawings that need to be device-independent,
or do not need to achieve photo-realism. For example, the PostScript and PDF page description
languages use a vector graphics model.

3D Modeling

In 3D computer graphics, vectorized surface representations are most common (bitmaps can be
used for special purposes such as surface texturing, height-field data and bump mapping). At the
low-end, simple meshes of polygons are used to represent geometric detail in applications
where interactive frame rates or simplicity are important.

Figure 1.2: 3D Modelling

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