NOTE: THIS COURSE REQUIRES THAT YOU UPLOAD TO THE WEB EACH MIDTERM AND FINAL EXERCISE TO YOUR BLOG, BUT ONLY BITMAP IMAGES CAN BE UPLOADED TO YOUR BLOG! ALL THE OTHERS (SUCH AS VECTOR AND 3D FILES) NEED TO BE UPLOADED TO A TRADITIONAL WEB SITE, NOT YOUR BLOG. IF YOU ARE NOT ALREADY COMFORTABLE CREATING WEB PAGES OR UPLOADING FILES TO THE WEB YOU CAN USE BC'S FILES AREA INSTEAD.

Vector Graphics, Part I

ADVANTAGES OF VECTOR GRAPHICS: Ability to scale to output device resolution, file size, and "editability" are three major advantages of vector graphics over bitmap graphics. Vector graphics can't be edited on the pixel level and they can't represent photographic quality images, however, nor are they directly supported by Web browsers as some bitmap formats (notably JPEG, GIF, and PNG) are. A browser plug-in is therefore necessary to view vector graphics in a Web browser.

Jargon/Terminology

• Vector Graphics (aka Draw graphics, Object graphics, Geometric graphics)
• Draw (vector) vs. Paint (bitmap)
• Vector (line with a direction)
• Line
• Vertex (vertices; points)
• Path
• Stroke
• Curves and Splines
• Fills and Gradients
• Rasterization
• Shape (object/geometric form)
• Order (stacking order of shapes/objects)
• Alignment
• Distribution
• Grouping
• Scaling (transforming)
• Snap to Grid
• Clip art

Desktop Publishing

• Adobe PostScript (PS) is the de facto industry standard  geometric page description language
• Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) includes a bitmap image (typically in TIFF format) for placement in page layout/design tools
• Microsoft Word and PowerPoint vector graphics are stored internally as proprietary format, typically sent to laser printers in PostScript
• Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) is emerging as a de facto industry standard for Web and Desktop publishing
• Various Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Computer Aided Modeling (CAM) vector graphics format exist, although they're not mainstream in the sense of PS, EPS, and PDF.

Exercise [midterm 9] : Create your own course diagram drawing in native Microsoft Word (MSWord) and PLACE YOUR NAME in at least one of the shapes. Use a variety or shapes and lines: Experiment with Word's drawing tools to create a unique look for your drawing. Submit this Word file (.doc) for the midterm.

Exercise: Save the Microsoft Word drawing that you created previously (above Exercise) in HTML format for the Web.

Exercise: Try to edit the bitmap graphic created for the above Web page. Can you alter it like you can the original MSWord document?

Exercise: Use Microsoft Word to draw a variety of curves and submit this Word file (.doc) for the midterm. If you'd like you can optionally save the file in HTML format for the Web as well.

Exercise [midterm 10]: DO EXERCISE A.1 FROM APPENDIX A IN OUR VECTOR GRAPHICS TEXTBOOK.

Exercise: Use Microsoft Word to draw a variety of filled shapes (create different shapes filled with solid colors, gradients, patterns, and textures/images). Save the results in HTML format for the Web.

Exercise: Explore Microsoft PowerPoint's drawing tools. Are they similar to Microsoft Word's drawing tools?

Exercise: Create a simple Microsoft PowerPoint presentation about yourself (create a few slides that tell a little about you, your interests, etc.), and upload the .ppt file to the Web to submit it for your midterm.

Tip: Can't view your PowerPoint presentations on your own computer, or want to share them with someone who doesn't have PowerPoint (or has an older version)? If so, install this free PowerPoint Viewer (or follow these "SAVE AS..." instructions").

Midterm:

THERE ARE 10 EXERCISES (plus your SD/HD frames if you were required to do them) IN TOTAL REQUIRED FOR THE MIDTERM; WORK ON THEM NOW TO ENSURE THAT THEY ARE READY IN TIME. The day the midterms are due you may also have a "live" (timed) midterm exercise to do (Midterm #11). Instructions for the "live" midterm exercise #11 will be provided through our Yahoo Group on the day midterms are due.

You may do the readings below as needed if you need additional help with the vector graphics exercises listed above.

Readings from our online textbook:

Book: Discovering Vector Graphics (click icon at left to open this book) Sections to read if you need help completing the vector graphics midterm exercises:     1.0.0 INTRODUCING VECTOR GRAPHICS (Object Oriented Graphics)     2.0.0 VECTOR GRAPHICS vs. BITMAP (RASTER) GRAPHICS     3.0.0 HANDS-ON, OFF THE WEB: MICROSOFT WORD 2000 **     4.0.0 HANDS-ON, OFF THE WEB: MICROSOFT POWERPOINT 2000-2 ** ** Notice: Chapters in these sections are very large, and take a long time to download over dial-up modems -- be patient when selecting chapters from these book sections.