Graphics Programs

Graphics Programs Introduction Graphics software As a DM, you will be using some type of graphics software package in your shop. More shops are becoming computerized and just as the command mission varies at each duty station so does the graphics software requirements. Periodically assess the computer graphic capabilities of your shop and stay as current as you can. Graphics software allows you to create artwork and images to stand alone or to insert into text. Some programs create primarily presentation graphics in the form of 35mm slides, overhead transparencies, electronic presentations, and audience handouts. Other graphics software allows you to modify or combine existing artwork, edit and enhance photographs, create line graphs, pie charts, and organizational charts. The two types of graphics software technology are bit mapping, or raster-based, and vector mapping. How easily the graphics program permits image manipulation and how sharp the resolution of that image is part of the software program. Monitor resolution, the VGA card, and the devices used to make the hard copy end product also affect resolution. Regardless of manufacturer and because there are so many graphics software programs used in Navy Graphics shops, this segment covers only those features common to the majority of programs. Bit mapped software programs Bit mapped images create an image using a point or hundreds of points of light in a matrix. These images are slower to manipulate and create than vector graphics but more spontaneous and easier to learn. Multi-layering bit mapped matrixes into distinct gridmapped forms is called raster-based imagery. Raster-based images create painterly effects and encourage creativity. They also require an enormous amount of power and memory which slows program execution. To modify or create in the bit mapped mode is to work at the pixel level which can be time consuming and tedious. Continued on next page 3-33