Flashcards · 9626 · A Level Topic 19

Graphics creation (A Level) flashcards

8 cards on A Level Topic 19. Pick a subtopic or study them all.

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What happens if an image's resolution is too low or too high?: Too low: blocky or soft images, worst in print or when enlarged. Too high: no visible gain on screen, but larger files, slower web pages and more storage.
What is a Bezier curve?: A vector curve whose shape is set by its end nodes and their control handles, which set the direction and strength of the bend.
What does tracing a bitmap gain and lose?: It turns edges and colour areas into vector paths. Gains: scalable, editable, small for simple logos. Losses: detail and shading, many nodes for complex images, and clean-up time.
Kerning vs letter spacing: Kerning adjusts the space between one pair of letters. Letter spacing sets even spacing across all the selected letters.
What does converting text to curves do?: The letters become paths, so no font is needed and letters can be reshaped, but the text can no longer be edited as text.
Lossless vs lossy image compression: Lossless rebuilds the original exactly, e.g. run-length encoding (RRRRBB → 4R 2B), and is best on flat colour. Lossy permanently removes detail for much smaller files, giving artefacts that get worse with each re-save.
Bring to front vs raise: Raise moves an object up one step in the stacking order. Bring to front moves it all the way to the top.
What is the effect of reducing colour depth?: Fewer bits per pixel give a smaller file but fewer colours, so smooth areas show banding.