Lesson video

Hi, I'm Rebecca, your computing teacher for the vector graphics unit, and this is your final lesson on using Inkscape to make vector graphics.

Now, for this lesson, you're going to need that Inkscape programme that you should have downloaded and installed in lesson one with your parent or carer's permission.

You're also going to need to download a file from our website to make sure that you can complete the activity in this lesson, which I'll show you how to use later on.

And you're going to need a pen and paper if you want to, to make any notes that you might need to.

And very important, remove as many distractions as possible so you can really focus in this lesson.

Once you've got all of that ready, we can begin.

In this lesson, you will explain what vector graphics are, and you'll provide examples where using vector graphics would be appropriate.

Let's take a look at these two images.

What I'd like you to do is see if you can describe any of the differences there are between these two images.

You've got a vector graphic and you've got a photograph on the right-hand side.

So take a think about that.

Pause the video while you do.

So the main difference was the photograph contains a lot more detail, and the image is actually made up of pixels instead of paths, lines and shapes.

Vector graphics are digital images that are created using paths.

A path can be a line or many paths that can be combined to form a shape.

Lines and shapes can be altered allowing vector graphics to be easily edited.

Bitmap images or raster graphics are made up of small individual squares of colour called pixels, and you can see there on that demonstration.

There's a zoomed in part of that butterfly where you can actually see the pixels that are there.

When compared to vector paths, altering individual pixels is much more difficult process because there are so many and they are so tiny.

Vector graphics are images such as illustrations, icons and logos.

They do not use many colours because they have large areas of solid colour.

Bitmap images or raster graphics are usually real photographs that contain a great deal of detail.

They use lots of colours because each tiny pixel is a slightly different shade to make the colours within them blend.

Now, vector scalability.

Vector graphics can be scaled up or down without losing any image quality because the paths and shapes they are made from are based on algorithms and formulae.

The algorithms and formulae recalculate the colour and size of the pixels within the paths when the graphic is resized.

This keeps the edges of the graphics nice and sharp.

And you can see there the E in vector is enlarged, and the quality is not lost when it is enlarged.

Now, raster graphics are different.

They lose image quality when scaled up or down because they are based on pixels only.

The size and colour of the pixels is not recalculated when the graphic is resized, and this makes the edges look blurred.

So if you see there, the E in raster has been enlarged, and you can see because it's been enlarged, you can actually start to see the pixels there around the edge, which looks distorted and it doesn't look the best.

So bitmap images or raster graphics are great if you want to take a small image and then make it much bigger, 'cause it's just going to distort and look blurred.

Now you're going to be creating a clownfish.

So SVG or scalable vector graphic is a vector file format, and that's the file format that you've been using with your graphics.

A vector file is essentially a structured description of an image.

Each path and shape within the file possesses properties that explain what it looks like and its position within the image.

You will be using an SVG file to create a clownfish, and you're going to watch the demonstration first to get you started.

So you should have already downloaded the Clownfish.

svg file from our website, and you should have saved it somewhere where you can remember, maybe in your vector graphics folder.

Now, if you go to file open, you should be able to find that.

And in mine, it's already got the icon for Inkscape.

It says clownfish there.

But you might see, if you've got Google Chrome on your computer, it might be the Google Chrome logo or whatever browser you're using.

But that's what it looks like on mine, and it's clownfish.

And then you see a little preview of it there when you go to open it up.

So I'm going to open it up, and then you'll see there that you've got lots of pieces of a puzzle, and your challenge is to try and figure out how to put those pieces of the puzzle together in order to actually make a graphic of a fish, a clownfish.

So you've got all of those pieces together.

You've just got to figure out where to put them.

So for example, this one here, if I look, if I've noticed, you've got the blue for the sea, and then this is going to go for the coral.

Now, if I put this there and then I change the order so that it moves to the back, I've now got a little bit more room so I can put this shade in the front.

Then I've just got all these pieces of the fish to try and figure out where all those pieces actually go.

And I'm not going to go too far 'cause I don't want to give you too much help.

I want you to figure it out.

I know that's the face.

So I could start with the face there perhaps.

And maybe as you start to get closer and closer.

Oo, is that something? Okay, so as you start to get closer and closer, you can maybe start grouping those objects and move it around.

And then also once you've got this basis for a clownfish image, what you can do is you can start adding your own elements to it.

So maybe another fish possibly, or a starfish or something like that into your picture.

So don't just finish it and then say, "Right, job done." Think about what else you could add to it as well to make it your own.

To create your own clownfish then, download the Clownfish.

svg file if you haven't already.

Open it in Inkscape, and then edit the file to create a clownfish image, and don't forget to add your own elements to it as well once you're done.

Pause the video while you do that.

Excellent.

So I hope you've enjoyed this unit and you've learned an awful lot about vector graphics, and also how to use Inkscape to make your own vector graphics.

So it'd be fantastic to see your progress and see what you've actually done to maybe working independently or maybe what you've done to add to that clownfish picture.

And if you'd like to, please ask your parent or carer's permission to share your work on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter tagging @OakNational and hashtag #LearnwithOak 'cause I'd really love to see what you've been up to.

Well done, and hopefully I'll see you soon for another unit.