CorelDRAW is a vector-imaging software program but is versatile enough to work with bitmap images, too. A bitmap image is a series of little squares called pixels. Each pixel is a different color that, when combined into a pattern, assembles an image.
Vector images are composed of lines and curves generated from mathematical descriptions or commands. These determine how the lines of an image are drawn and assembled, including the position, length, thickness, color, and direction of lines.
Take a look below, and you’ll see how a bitmap and a vector file assemble a circle.
The object in the center is a black bitmap circle surrounded by an orange vector circle. As you can see, each format creates the shape of a circle very differently. So when and why would you use either a bitmap or a vector image?
I’ll start with bitmap. As you now know, bitmap images are a collection of tiny squares called pixels, and these pixels assemble an image. This is perfect for depicting the subtle gradient of color in a picture.
However, since color is created using dots, there are obvious disadvantages to bitmaps. Because a bitmap is a series of squares, it’s almost impossible to create a curved line with a smooth edge using a bitmap image. The curve becomes jagged and rough.
Additionally, when you enlarge a bitmap, your software must guess where to put the extra pixels necessary to make it larger, which creates an effect called pixelation. Pixelation means that individual pixels become so prevalent that they distort an image.
Conversely, when you reduce a bitmap, the software has to decide which pixels to throw out. You’ll usually get less pixelation, but you also lose a lot of detail. Below you can see how resizing a bitmap image creates problems in both directions:
On the other hand, software using mathematical equations creates vector images. This means a vector image is always of the highest quality. Moreover, because it’s composed of a series of lines and curves, the angles that form are always smooth.
Another benefit of vector images is that you can resize them to any proportion without causing distortion or losing detail. And the final advantage I’ll point out is that vector file sizes are very small. This means that they take up less space on your computer, and they’re easy to send over email.
At this point, it probably sounds like vector images have many advantages over bitmaps. They’re of the highest quality, you can easily rescale, and their file size is manageable. While all this is true, bitmaps reign supreme in two areas.
Remember when I mentioned the continuous color that is created by a bitmap? This is indispensable when it comes to photographs. Vector imaging can’t approach the realism of a photographic bitmap image. So, all scanned images and digital photos are bitmaps.
Here’s an example of how bitmap and vector images display a photograph:
In addition, bitmap formats like jpgs are still the standard for web design and do not require plug-ins to view like the few vector formats that are currently available for the internet.
You should now have a better understanding of the differences between bitmap and vector images. The software is able to import and export a wide range of file formats and has the ability to convert vector files into GIF and JPEG formats. You can also import these formats into CorelDRAW.
Happy drawing!
John Sadlouskos 