#Free image vectorizer software software#
#Free image vectorizer software series#

Part of the reason this distinction can be unclear is that vector image formats arenвЂ™t very widely supported by web browsers or operating systems (with the exception of open standards like SVG and PDF), so vector images usually get converted into pixel formats like JPG and PNG. The exact shape of each object, the color of each shape, and the order in which the shapes overlap are all stored as equations instead of pixels.

#Free image vectorizer software series#

Vector images are composed of a series of mathematical equations that describe all elements in the image. In its most basic form, a raster image is a simple grid of information that describes the color and brightness of each pixel. Raster images are the most common form of digital image because theyвЂ™re composed of pixels in a similar way to your output device (your monitor, in other words). If youвЂ™re new to the world of image editing, you might not have heard the terms raster image and vector image before вЂ“ and there are even a few more experienced editors who could brush up on their terminology too.

Vector vs Raster: WhatвЂ™s The Difference?.

#Free image vectorizer software software#

GIMP isnвЂ™t the only piece of free image editing software available, so I can point you in the direction of a couple of different options that will let you create vector images properly, with all the fun and time-saving tools that youвЂ™ll find in a dedicated vector graphics program. GIMP cannot do anything with these entities, but it can load them as paths.вЂќ вЂ“ The official GIMP user manual, Section 5.7 вЂњThe SVG format handles many other graphical elements than just paths: among other things, it handles figures such as squares, rectangles, circles, ellipses, regular polygons, etc. An SVG file will probably display better in your web browser than it will in GIMP. You can open SVG files, but thatвЂ™s about it. GIMP does have limited support for the web-friendly vector format SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics), but when I say limited support, I really mean it. The strokes, fills, and patterns of your shapes are all rasterized as pixels immediately, and never exist as vector data.

The Paths tool in GIMP does use a Bezier curve system in the same way that vector graphics programs create shapes, but these paths are only used as a means of defining specific areas for pixel editing. GIMP is a raster image editor, which means it creates and edits pixels, not vectors. Creating vector images from pixel images is useful for a lot of different design projects, but I have to tell you right from the start that GIMP is not designed for creating vector images.