GRAPHICS PACKAGES

A graphics package is an application that can be used to create and manipulate images on a computer.

There are two main types of graphics packages:

• painting packages 
• drawing packages

Painting packages

• A painting package is a graphic application that can be used for processing photographs by manipulating features like colors, effects, brightness, etc 
• A painting package produces images by changing the colour of pixels on the screen.

Advantages

• The main advantage offered by this type of graphic is that it can be used for adjusting and beautifying photographs 

Disadvantages of painting packages

• Individual parts of an image cannot be resized;

• only the whole picture can be increased or decreased in size.

Examples of graphics packages that produce bitmapped images include:- MS Paint, PC Paintbrush, Adobe Photoshop, and JASC’s Paint Shop Pro.

Drawing packages

• A drawing package produces images that are made up of coloured lines and shape such as circles, squares, and rectangles.
• When an image is saved it is stored in a vector graphics file as a series of instructions, which can be used to recreate it.

The main advantages of vector graphics are:

• They use less storage space than bitmap graphics;
• Each part of an image is treated as a separate object, which means that individual parts can be easily modified.

Disadvantages of drawing packages 

• They don’t look as realistic as bitmap graphics.

Examples of drawing graphics packages include CorelDraw, Micrographix Designer, and computer-aided design (CAD) packages such as AutoCAD.

Common features of graphics packages

• Drawing straight lines and ‘freehand’ lines;
• Drawing regular pre-defined shapes like squares, rectangles, and circles using a special ‘tool’;
• Entering text and changing the style and size of font;
• Changing the size of an object, or scaling;
• Rotating objects either clockwise or anticlockwise by specifying the direction and angle of rotation;
• Stretching objects either horizontally or vertically. ‘Flipping’ an object either horizontally or vertically.
• A paint palette from which different colours and patterns can be chosen.
• A fill option for colouring in a shape or area on the screen with a colour or pattern from the paint palette.
• Most graphics packages have a built-in library of clipart pictures.
• Zoom or magnify is a feature that allows an area of the screen to be seen close up for detailed work.
• Special brushes such as an airbrush can be used to achieve different paint effects on the screen.
• In most graphics these features are chosen from a toolbar or tool palette where they are displayed as icons.

 Questions 

1. Define Graphic Package.
2. Mention the two types of Graphic Package 

FEATURES OF THE GRAPHICS PACKAGES

Title bar

The title bar is a bar located at the top of a window or a dialog box that displays the name of the window or software program being used. For example, in the picture below, the title bar displays the name of the program.

Toolbar

Sometimes referred to as a bar, the toolbar is a row of boxes, often at the top of an application window that control various functions of the software. The boxes often contain images that correspond with the function they control, as demonstrated in the image below.

Menu bar

A thin, rectangular window containing dropdown menus, and a menu bar is used in many computer programs. Its primary function is to house application or window-specific menus that provide an assortment of functions to the user. These functions include interactions like opening files, editing text, and bringing up software-related help menus.

Colour palette

 This comprises different colours for your drawing. The colour can be selected by clicking on them.

Printable Area

This is the portion where our drawings and pictures are manipulated and placed for printing.