3. Image types: Bitmap images

There are two types of graphics, namely Bitmap graphics and Vector graphics. Most graphics packages are designed with either bitmap or vector graphics in mind. Although some applications can handle both.

For example, Photoshop Elements is an excellent bitmap package whilst Adobe Illustrator is a professional vector package.

Bitmap images are made up of tiny coloured squares called pixels. You can imagine bitmap images are a little like graph paper which have the tiny squares coloured in. As long as the squares are small then from a distance the image will look fine.

One common problem with BITMAP images is that they do not look as good when they are zoomed up in size. This is because as each pixel becomes larger, they begin to appear as coloured blocks - a common name for this effect is 'pixellated' - see the large image below.