If you wanted to stretch a raster image in order to print it to a very large sign, it would eventually blur or pixelate. They also provide a better print output since they are not resolution-dependent. Vector graphics are very well suited for the creation of digital imagery such as logos. You can modify and move these dots as you wish.
Difference between illustrator and photoshop series#
Per example, in a raster graphic program like Photoshop, when you draw a line, it is simply a series of coloured pixels, whilst, in a vector program, a line is composed of two dots which are connected together by a computer algorithm. This means that the image is not composed of pixels, but rather of mathematical constructs. Illustrator is a vector graphics program.
However, that makes it blurry.Illustrator may look similar to Photoshop at a first glance, but it is very different. In Photoshop, you would highlight the circle and resize it. Say you draw a circle and realize that it should be slightly bigger. Many designers prefer Illustrator when creating something from scratch. It’s important that whoever is using the logo can resize it without destroying it. A logo, for example, can be used in so many different ways. The ability to scale an image and maintain its quality is critical in these situations. Illustrator is primarily used for things like logo design and image creation. Generally, if your starting point is an existing image(s), Photoshop is the application you should use. There’s some personal preference involved, too.Īs its name implies, Photoshop is primarily used for photo editing and manipulation-things like adjusting the white balance on a photo, removing red-eye, erasing a crease from a scanned photo, editing an object out of a photo, etc. In some situations, you might be able to use both, but most of the time, they’re used for very different purposes. Photoshop or Illustrator each has its own strengths and weaknesses. RELATED: What Is an SVG File, and How Do I Open One? Which Should You Use? Difference between Illustrator and Photoshop You can work outside the work scape in AI vs photoshop as it only let your design inside the workspace. The outcome from both applications can be the same, but the way you get there is very different. That being said, you can export an Illustrator project as a JPG or PNG as well, which will merge everything into a flat raster image. Someone can open an SVG file and continue to tinker with the vector. A vector file maintains all the separate layers of shapes and text. An AI or SVG is the project file and the final product. Illustrator, on the other hand, is different. However, to get it to the final form of a raster image, it needs to be exported as a JPG or PNG. Someone else can open that PSD in Photoshop and continue the editing, and even undo some of the changes you’ve made. You can save a Photoshop project in progress, containing layers of images and text, as a PSD. Here’s where things get a little complicated. Common vector file extensions are AI, EPS, and SVG. You likely already know the typical raster file extensions of JPG and PNG. File FormatsĪs you might expect, raster and vector come with their own file formats as well. A vector is like if you cut out a shape from paper and glued it on the canvas. From afar, it may look clean, but when you get up close, you can see the texture and any irregularities in the brush strokes.
One way to think about the differences between the two is to imagine a canvas. You will never see pixels while viewing it in Illustrator. It doesn’t matter how far you zoom in on the object. The edge of the black curve is completely smooth and crisp. Now let’s take a look at the same object created as a vector in Illustrator. You can see the pixels along the edges of the black curve. The image above shows a zoomed-in view of a shape in Photoshop.