Cambridge A Level Information Technology (ICT): Graphics creation (9626)

This study guide covers topic 19, Graphics creation, of Cambridge International AS & A Level Information Technology (9626). It follows the Cambridge International AS & A Level Information Technology 9626 syllabus for examination in 2025, 2026 and 2027 (version 3), sections 19.1 to 19.5. Topic 19 is A Level only. The syllabus bases Paper 3 (Advanced Theory) questions on sections 12–21 and Paper 4 (Advanced Practical) tasks on sections 17–21, so you can meet this topic in both papers.

The syllabus names no software, so tools are described by what they do. Course hub: Cambridge A Level ICT. Printable checklist: course checklist. Find your gaps with a free 10-minute diagnostic.

What this topic covers

Section	What you must be able to do	Stage
19.1	Layer, transform, grouping, alignment, layout, colour picker and crop tools; colour systems; resolution; file formats and export; fills	A Level only
19.2	Vector drawing, selection, fills, node and path editing; tracing bitmaps	A Level only
19.3	Bitmap selection and masking, colour, brushes, filters, resizing	A Level only
19.4	Lossless and lossy compression and their effects	A Level only
19.5	Font style, text on a path or in a shape, text to curves	A Level only

Every graphic must meet the requirements of its intended application and audience.

Bitmap and vector: the starting point

A bitmap image is a grid of pixels, each storing a colour. It suits photographs; enlarging it shows the pixels (pixelation). A vector graphic stores objects as paths of nodes and curves, each with a stroke and fill. It scales without losing quality and suits logos and diagrams, not photographs.

19.1 Common graphics skills

Layers

Layers are stacked sheets. You can add, remove and select the active layer (the one edits apply to), change their order, toggle visibility, lock a layer against accidental edits (or release the lock), and change opacity/transparency. Blending sets how a layer’s colours combine with those below; merging combines chosen layers; flattening combines all into one. Keep a layered master copy.

Transform tools

Tool	Effect
Move	Changes position only
Resize / scale	Changes size; lock the aspect ratio to avoid distortion
Rotate	Turns about a centre point
Reflect	Flips to a mirror image
Skew / shear	Slants the object by sliding opposite edges past each other (often the same effect)
Envelope	Bends the object to fit an editable outline
Perspective	Makes the object appear to recede

Worked example 1. A 40 mm × 25 mm badge scaled to 150%: 40 × 1.5 = 60 mm and 25 × 1.5 = 37.5 mm. Same factor both ways, so no distortion.

Grouping and combining

• Group – objects move together but stay separate; ungroup releases them.
• Combine/join – makes several paths one object, or joins two end nodes.
• Add (union) – merges overlapping shapes into one outline.
• Subtract – cuts the top shape out of the one below.
• Intersect – keeps only the area where the shapes overlap.

Alignment, distribution and order

Align (left, right, top, bottom, centre) lines up edges or centres. Distribute (vertical or horizontal) makes the spacing equal. Order sets which object is in front: raise and lower move one step; bring to front and send to back go to the top or bottom.

Worked example 2. Three 30 mm buttons; first left edge at 10 mm, last right edge at 160 mm.

Span = 160 − 10 = 150 mm
Space left for gaps = 150 − 3 × 30 = 60 mm, so each gap = 60 ÷ 2 = 30 mm
Left edges: 10, 70, 130 mm   Centres: 25, 85, 145 mm

Layout, colour picker and crop

Rulers, grids and guidelines place objects precisely; snapping pulls an object to the nearest grid line, guide or node. The colour picker samples a colour or colour range from the image or another source, such as a brand colour. Crop/clip to an object keeps only the part inside a chosen shape.

Colour systems

System	How it produces colour	Typical use
RGB	Additive: red, green and blue light mixed at different intensities; all at full gives white, none gives black	Screens, web, digital images
HSL	The same colours as RGB described by hue (position on the colour wheel, 0–360°), saturation (intensity) and lightness (0% black, 100% white)	Adjusting colours by eye, e.g. a lighter tint
CMYK	Subtractive: cyan, magenta, yellow and key (black) inks absorb parts of white light reflected from paper	Commercial and desktop printing
CMS	A colour management system uses a profile for each device to convert colours so they look consistent on screen and in print	Work moving between devices

Black is a separate ink because mixing cyan, magenta and yellow gives a muddy dark colour. Some screen colours cannot be printed, so check print designs in CMYK.

Resolution

Image resolution is the number of pixels; print resolution is often given in pixels per inch (ppi).

• Too low: blocky or blurred, especially in print or when enlarged.
• Too high: no visible gain on screen, but larger files, slower web pages and more storage.

Worked example 3. A photo is 3600 × 2400 pixels; high-quality print commonly targets about 300 ppi.

At 300 ppi: 3600 ÷ 300 = 12 in, 2400 ÷ 300 = 8 in  → 12 × 8 inch print
For a 24 × 16 inch poster at 300 ppi you need 7200 × 4800 pixels
Using 3600 pixels over 24 inches gives 3600 ÷ 24 = 150 ppi → visibly softer

File formats and exporting

Format	Key properties	Good for
SVG	Vector; scales to any size	Logos and icons on websites
BMP	Bitmap; usually uncompressed, so large	Where file size does not matter
JPG/JPEG	Bitmap; lossy; millions of colours; no transparency	Photographs on the web
PNG	Bitmap; lossless; supports transparency	Logos, screenshots, sharp edges and text
GIF	Bitmap; lossless; 256 colours at most; can animate	Simple graphics, small animations
TIF	Bitmap; usually uncompressed or lossless; large	Print and publishing masters
PDF	Holds vector and bitmap content and fonts; keeps the layout	Print-ready artwork

Exporting saves a copy in the chosen format, with options such as quality and transparency. The syllabus states that Paper 4 work saved in an incorrect file format earns no marks for that task.

Fills

A solid fill is one colour. A gradient fill blends two or more colours, linear (along a line) or radial (out from a centre); you can change the colours, their positions and the angle.

19.2 Vector graphics

Drawing tools

• Freehand – follows the pointer; many nodes, uneven line.
• Straight lines – click node to node.
• Bezier curves – each segment is set by its two end nodes and control handles; the handle’s direction sets the curve’s direction and its length sets how strongly it bends.
• Shape tools – rectangles, ellipses, circles, arcs, stars, polygons and spirals, each with settings such as number of points.
• Envelopes and perspectives – as in 19.1.

Selecting and manipulating

Convert to curves turns a shape object (such as a star) into an ordinary path whose nodes can be edited; the shape’s own settings are lost. Replication makes copies, such as a row of evenly spaced duplicates. Transformation tools then act on the selection.

Node and path editing

Node type	Behaviour
Cusp	Handles move independently, making a sharp corner
Smooth	Handles stay in a straight line, so the path passes through without a corner
Symmetrical	Smooth, with both handles the same length, so the curve bends equally on each side
Asymmetrical	Smooth, with handles of different lengths, so the curve bends differently on each side

Software labels vary. Adding nodes allows a new bend; moving nodes reshapes the path; deleting unneeded nodes simplifies it. Align and distribute nodes lines nodes up or spaces them evenly.

Worked example 4. A freehand leaf outline has 60 nodes and a wobbly edge. Delete the nodes along each gentle curve, keeping one at each end. Make the tip a cusp node so it stays sharp and the side nodes smooth, then drag the handles to restore the curve. Result: few nodes, a clean edge, a smaller file.

Tracing bitmaps

Trace bitmap detects edges and areas of colour in a bitmap and creates vector paths from them.

Advantages	Disadvantages
Scales without pixelation	Fine detail and smooth shading are lost
Shapes and colours editable separately	Complex images give many nodes, larger files
A simple logo becomes a small, sharp file	Results often need time-consuming cleaning

19.3 Bitmap images

Selection and masking

• Lasso – draw round an area.
• Magic wand – selects neighbouring pixels of similar colour, within a tolerance.
• Colour select – selects similar-coloured pixels anywhere in the image.
• Cut-out – separates a selected object from its background.
• Crop – removes outer areas.
• Masking – hides part of a layer without deleting pixels, so it can be changed later.

Working with colour

Apply solid and gradient fills to selections. Convert to black and white (two colours) or greyscale (shades of grey). Adjust brightness, contrast (light against dark), colour balance (remove a colour cast) and shadows and highlights (recover detail in the darkest or brightest areas).

Brushes, pencils and pens

Use pre-set options or customise size, hardness, opacity and shape. Pencils typically give hard edges, brushes soft ones.

Filters and retouching

Tool	Use
Distort	Warps part of the image
Clone	Copies pixels from a source point to cover a blemish
Erase	Removes pixels
Blur	Softens detail, e.g. a background
Smudge	Drags colour like wet paint
Sharpen	Increases contrast at edges
Red eye removal	Darkens red pupils caused by flash

Resizing the image or canvas

Resizing the image resamples the picture to more or fewer pixels. Resizing the canvas adds space or removes edges, leaving the picture the same size. Changing resolution sets pixel dimensions or ppi. Changing colour depth sets bits per pixel: colours available = 2 to the power of the bit depth.

Worked example 5. Uncompressed 1600 × 1200 image (1 MB = 1,000,000 bytes).

24-bit: 1600 × 1200 × 24 ÷ 8 = 5,760,000 bytes = 5.76 MB  (2^24 = 16,777,216 colours)
8-bit:  1600 × 1200 × 8 ÷ 8  = 1,920,000 bytes = 1.92 MB  (2^8 = 256 colours)

Fewer colours can cause banding in skies.

19.4 Compression

Compression reduces file size by storing the data more efficiently, so files load, send and store faster.

• Lossless compression can rebuild the original exactly. One method is run-length encoding: a row WWWWWWWWBBBBWWWWWWWW (20 pixels) is stored as 8W 4B 8W. It works best on large areas of one colour (logos, diagrams).
• Lossy compression permanently removes detail people are least likely to notice. Files are much smaller, but strong settings cause artefacts: blocky patches, blurring, banding and fuzzy edges round text. Each re-save loses more.

Worked example 6. The 5.76 MB image above saved as a JPEG is 0.48 MB: 5.76 ÷ 0.48 = 12, a 12:1 reduction.

19.5 Text

• Font face – the typeface, such as a serif or sans serif design.
• Size – usually in points.
• Kerning – adjusts the space between one specific pair of letters, such as “AV”.
• Letter spacing – changes the space evenly across all selected letters.
• Line spacing – the vertical distance between lines of text.

Text on a path follows a line or runs around a shape, such as a slogan round a badge. Text in a shape flows inside a shape’s outline. Converting text to curves turns letters into vector paths: the font is no longer needed and letters can be reshaped, but the text can no longer be edited as text, so keep an editable copy.

Common errors

• Saying CMYK is for screens or RGB for print.
• Confusing kerning (one pair) with letter spacing (all selected letters).
• Choosing JPEG for a logo that needs a transparent background.
• Resizing the canvas when the image should be resized.
• Forgetting to divide by 8 to change bits to bytes.

Next steps

Condense this with the Graphics creation revision notes, then try the Graphics creation practice questions. Video and audio compression is in Video and audio editing; compression utilities are in Hardware and software.

Official syllabus

Cambridge International AS & A Level Information Technology 9626, syllabus for examination in 2025, 2026 and 2027, version 3, Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Topic 19: Graphics creation (19.1 Common graphics skills; 19.2 Vector graphics; 19.3 Bitmap images; 19.4 Compression; 19.5 Text).