What is the difference between Illustrator and photoshop?

[irtiza104]

As i have taken interest in a professional logo making contest for the first time, i am trying to learn illustrator. but my question is, what are the differences between photoshop and illustrator? can you please explain?

thanks. 

[Chri5]

One makes raster images and one makes vector images, if you don't know the terms you should not being participating in profesional logo making contests xD

[irtiza104]

Thanks and no, i don't know the meanings of these terms. can you please explain?

[Shortie]

Okay

Technically that is incorrect

Illustrator creates images from mathematical expressions thus meaning they can be scaled to what ever size without losing their sharpness hence to expression Vector based

PShop will do the above but will also allow for the manipulation of raster images  in unison - so probably the best of both world raster and Vector also Pshop allows the manipulation of basic 3D images which has been dramatically increased in CS5 which again makes it a very universal tool - But that is shown on the price

PSP also does the majority of what Pshop can do at a fraction of the cost it just doesn't have the Kudos


Why use vector or raster / bitmap images

Vector  images are made up of many individual, scalable objects. These objects are defined by mathematical equations rather than pixels, so they always render at the highest quality. Objects may consist of lines, curves, and shapes with editable attributes such as color, fill, and outline. Changing the attributes of a vector object does not effect the object itself. You can freely change any number of object attributes without destroying the basic object. An object can be modified not only by changing its attributes, but also by shaping and transforming it using nodes  and control handles.

Because they're scalable, vector-based images are resolution independent. You can increase and decrease the size of vector images to any degree and your lines will remain crisp and sharp, both on screen and in print. Fonts are a type of vector object.

Another advantage of vector images is that they're not restricted to a rectangular shape like bitmaps. Vector objects can be placed over other objects, and the object below will show through.

Vector images have many advantages, but the primary disadvantage is that they're unsuitable for producing photo-realistic imagery. Vector images are usually made up of solid areas of color or gradients, but they cannot depict the continuous subtle tones of a photograph. That's why most of the vector images you see tend to have a cartoon-like appearance. Even so, vector graphics are continually becoming more advanced, and we can do a lot more with vector drawings now than we could a decade ago. Today's vector tools allow you to apply bitmapped textures to objects giving them a photo-realistic appearance, and you can now create soft blends, transparency, and shading that once was difficult to achieve in vector drawing programs.

Vector images primarily originate from software. You can't scan an image and save it as a vector file without using special conversion software. On the other hand, vector images can, quite easily, be converted to bitmaps. This process is called rasterizing. When you convert a vector image to a bitmap, you can specify the output resolution of the final bitmap for whatever size you need. It's always important to save a copy of your original vector artwork in its native format before converting it to a bitmap; once it has been converted to a bitmap, the image loses all the wonderful qualities it had in its vector state. If you convert a vector to a bitmap at a size of 100 by 100 pixels and then decide you need the image to be larger, you'll need to go back to the original vector file and export the image again. Also keep in mind that opening a vector image in a bitmap editing program usually destroys the vector qualities of the image and converts it to raster data.

The most common reason for wanting to convert a vector to a bitmap would be for use on the Web. At this time, the most common and accepted format for vector images on the Web is Shockwave Flash (SWF). Another standard for vector images on the Web is SVG, a graphics programming language based on XML. Due to the nature of vector images, they are best converted to GIF or PNG format for use on the Web.

[Shortie]

Also before any one asks

What are 3d Images

3D images are vector base shapes which are extruded in to what is call a Mesh or a polygon vector

the texture applied to a 3d object again is either mathematical vector based or raster based or a combination of the two

The advantage of a 3d object is that once you have created the object it can be moved around in imaginary space for different views

The disadvantage is that to create an image the maths need to be made into something you can see which is called rendering and is very very CPU intensive as Witcher will no doubt back me up on - it is not uncommon for a render to take ten hours plus

Shortie

[lesmond]

I knew that....... NOT! lol

[irtiza104]

Thanks shortie, you are such a help!