What is ADOBE Illustrator about?

Computer graphics fall into two main categories, bitmap graphics and vector graphics. Adobe Illustrator is a vector based software package. Drawing programs such as Illustrator create vector graphics made of lines and curves, defined by mathematical objects called vectors. A vector graphic is resolution-independent! What this means for you is that unlike pixel based images, a vector based piece of artwork can be scaled to any size and printed on any output device (printer) at any resolution without losing its detail or clarity. Vector graphics are the best choice for type, and bold graphics that need to maintain their crispness at various scales.

In Adobe Illustrator you "draw" objects. Objects are simply the points, lines, shapes and paths that you create on the page.
What makes Illustrator powerful is its ability to manipulate any object as a graphic element.

You will learn about creating and manipulating bitmap or raster images in the Photoshop portion of the class.

Common uses for vector image formats
1. Logos which are generally a few solid colors and need to be shown at a variety of sizes
2. Creating specialized text effects

Vector image formats advantages
1. Resolution independent
2. Smooth curves
3. Small file sizes

What is ADOBE Photoshop about?

In simplest terms Photoshop is raster based image editing program. It has very powerful tools which can analyze and allow you to modify these pixels. Raster or bit mapped graphics are defined by a grid of pixels to Photoshop. Each pixel has a specific color value assigned to it depending what color mode you are working in it is defined differently. A pixel is usually very small so you don't notice the individual pixels, they all combine to make up you image.

Common uses for raster image formats
1. Continuous tone images like photographs
2. Used on the web

Raster image formats advantages
1. Only format that will show smooth gradients and subtle detail necessary in photographic images
2. Allow for color correction much easier then vector images