Graphic Design Unit 2

1. Dan Nechustan

2. Applications of Interactive Media Graphics
Interactive media is when digital media is combined with graphic design such
as moving images, rollover buttons, sound and animated graphics such as
.gifs, This allows people to interact with media better as it stands out more
visually. Interactive media graphics is most seen on websites and GUI’s for
programs to ensure that important aspects of a program/website stand out
visually to users and are easier to interact with. For example websites will use
rollover buttons to suggest that the button is clickable for the user and may
navigate the user to an important location.
.Gifs may be used on advertisements online as they often stand out on a static
website rather than a dynamic website, this can also be applied with other
aspects such as logo’s or important information that may need to be viewed by
the user.

3. Picture Element and Image Resolution
Image resolution is the height and width of an image and the amount of pixels
displayed in an image the height and width will also determine the amount of
pixels in an image, The larger the picture the more pixels will display.
Image resolution is used to ensure that digital images are displayed properly
and fit on a website while maintaining the highest possible quality, If a image is
supposed to fit a 800x600 image box and it is a 400x200 Image it will be too
small or it will stretch out and become very low quality.
A picture element is a tiny square in an image and there is thousands of these
in an image that make up the image, A picture element is more commonly
referred to as a pixel. The more pixels that make up an image will result in a
higher quality image that will look clearer.

4. Types of Digital Graphics Used To Create Digital Images
2D Sprites: Are 2D bitmaps to create characters and objects during the early phase of gaming
(1980s and 1990s) the use of sprites became increasingly popular during street fighter gaining
popularity.
3D Isometric Sprites: Like 2D sprites 3D sprites had a similar however they gave the target a 3D
effect rather than a flat 2D effect, 3D sprites became popular around the 1990’s gaming phase.
CGI: CGI stands for computer generated imagery which became very popular to use for effects in
films and cut scenes for games, fire, explosion and smoke can be created using CGI. CGI is to
give an object the effect of moving and being 3D.
Concept Art: Concept art is used for character and environment development it starts out as a
rough sketch which eventually develops into a character or area in a game/film. This helps artists
create an idea of their characters which eventually get turned into 3D models.
Textures: In the gaming industry textures are used to give an object a realistic or certain look to fit
in theme with the rest of the game.

5. File Extensions used in Digital Graphics, File
Compression and Optimisation
.bmp (Bitmap) – Is a commonly used image format due to the fact that it is compatible with a large variety of
computers and is a raster type format so it retains sharpness when the image is resized larger.
.png (Portable Network Graphic) – is a file type not commonly used as it does not function with operating
system installed software and 3RD party software has to be installed in order to edit or view it, the only benefit to
using a .png file is that it has a transparent background.
.gif (Graphics Interchange Format) – Is a file type that is able to be animated for a short period of time and can
even be taken from clips. The drawback is that .gif’s have a larger file type and have a smaller colour palette.
.jpg (JPEG ) – JPEG stands for the name of the creator the Joint Photographic Expert Group, .jpg is the most
common file extension as they can be viewed and edited with no extra software, however when they are
changed in size they become blurred due to pixels becoming more visible.
Optimising: Optimising images will need a target output as larger files will take too long and smaller files wont
look clear. Images also have a bit depth which determines the colours for example :
1 bit – Black and White
4 bit – 16 Colours
8 bit – 256 Colours
24 bit / True Colour – 16,000,000 colours
48 bit = 1,000,000,000 colours

6. Image Capture, Image Output and Storage of Image
assets
Image Capture
Digital Camera’s: Digital Cameras are capable of taking photographs and recording footage in real
life. However they cannot take pictures or record footage of televisions/computers as effective as
screen capturing them.
Scanners: Scanners are capable of importing real life pictures / drawn pictures into a computer for
editing in Photoshop or other software, this can be useful for concept art.
Screen Capture: Screen capturing can be useful for reference work and tracing work, as well as
pentooling.
Image Output and Storage of Image assets
Images can be output in all different types of sizes depending on the dimensions of the graphics
and the resolution of the graphics, they can be stored in Gigabytes, Megabytes as well as Bytes.
The larger the file size the longer upload and download time the image will have this means that if
someone intends to use a logo for a web site it should have a smaller file size so it loads faster.