James Clayton

Artistic styles used in computer games

Photorealism:
Photorealism is the process of looking at something in real life and then trying to make an
identical copy on computer software or sometimes as drawings or paintings. This is done to
get the most realistic representation of whatever it is the
person is designing, this could either be a vehicle in a game or
the terrain in which the game is played such as whats shown in
this image on the right. The top image was taken in real life and
the bottom image is a screenshot from the ARMA III game
which used this area in real life as part of the game. Lots of
game companies use real places as a location for their game as
it means the development team doesnt have to try and create
natural terrain as they can easily copy the terrain and features
found there in real life, just like what they did in ARMA III with
this mountain. Doing this gives the game a very realistic feel as the terrain is almost an
identical copy of real life.

A10 Warthog from ARMA A10 Warthog from real

III game life

The graphics in games are becoming so advanced now that it can be impossible to tell the
difference between a screenshot from a game and an image from real life, just like with
these images of the A10 Warthog.

Cel shading:
This is a type of shading technique used on computer graphics
to make 3D objects appear 2D. This can be done for several
reasons but the main one is to give a game a cartoon feel as
this type of shading is often used in the drawing of cartoons as
its much easier than to have a gradient. The image on the left
uses a plastic shader which is designed to give the character a
3D look by using realistic gradient shading. The identical character on the right though uses
Cel Shading which gives it a 2D look compared to the nice realistic shading of the other
character. If a image or character is drawn on a computer Cel Shading is often used as its
much easier to do and is not as time consuming as normal gradient shading.

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Abstraction:
This is mostly known as abstract art and is rarely used in games as its not a style that works
well with the majority of games due to its unrealistic look. Games that uses abstract styling
are the total opposite to photorealistic games in that they try to make things look not
realistic, they do this by not using any real life references whilst working on the game so
that they cant get influenced by something in real life as this would then ruin the abstract
feel of the game. One of the most abstract games
available is Geometry Wars where the object is to
survive as long as possible and score as many points
as possible by destroying an ever-increasing swarm of
enemies. Just looking at this image taken from
Geometry Wars 3 is enough to show that its not a
normal type of game and can be very confusing to
look at as were not used to seeing such random shapes and colours in a game as were used
to looking at photorealistic games instead.

Exaggeration- Anime & Manga:

Anime is a Japanese form of animation. These animations have more complex storylines
unlike most other animations that only use simple storylines that dont go into depth about
each character. They have such detailed storylines because they exaggerate each character
so they stand out from the rest, giving them a very individual personality meaning certain
viewers may like a character more than others due to the personality they have been given.
This is very different from most western animations which dont go into such detail about
the characters personalities. Another way Anime differs
so much from normal animations is in the way that the
characters move and interact with each other. The way
the characters run is nothing like you normally see as the
background around the characters is often blurred out to
simulate the speed the characters are running at, they
also have less frames which gives the animations a sort
of flip book look, as you can see each individual
movement. One of the most noticeable features that all
Anime characters have is a similar head shape. All of
them have a similar looking shaded head with a pointy
chin, this is how you can easily identify an Anime
character. You can also see that they use Cel Shading on
the characters as it gives them the cartoon look the animations aim for.

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Manga is different from Anime in that theyre drawings which are done in pen and ink in
black and white, with an emphasis on clean lines, unlike Anime which is animated. One of
the most noticeable features about Manga is that the characters have very large, almond-
shaped eyes and their other body parts often are out of proportion. The characters hair can
be dramatically long (especially on hero characters) but if an artist picks a shorter style it is
most likely spiky. In the majority of storylines Manga characters show
their emotions very clearly through things such as facial expressions,
but artists frequently include special devices to make feelings more
pronounced. One of the most common is a sweat drop on the forehead
of the character which shows that they are feeling awkward, worried,
embarrassed or tired. Small things like this are found throughout
Manga comics.

Artistic styles conclusion

Due to there being hundreds of different game ideas and designs which all have their own
little twist on an artistic style its difficult to say which is the most popular as theres a
popular game for each style. One of the most popular types of styling though that the
majority of new games aim for is photorealism, this is because it is used as a selling point for
the game as everyone wants to see and play the latest game with the most realistic graphics
as everyone is amazed that a game can be made to look so good. One of the least popular
styles used in video games though is abstraction, this is a very difficult style to get right and
appeals to a smaller group of people than more mainstream styles such as photorealism
which is why you dont see many game using it.

Computer game graphics

Pixel art (2D sprites, 3D isometric sprites)
Pixel art refers to game graphics that have been purposely developed so you can see each
individual pixel that makes up the graphics, games do this to be different but also because it
can be an appealing look to certain players. One of the most popular games
that uses this pixel art work is Minecraft, as you can see in this image on
the right the pickaxe the character uses is made out of very defined pixels.
This type of pixel art work is classed as 3D as the game is 3D and just uses
pixelated textures, other games though like the old Mario games are
pixelated but are only 2D as they didnt have the technology to make 3D games back then.
2D sprites are used in 2 dimensional games and consist of lots of
different poses of the character which then get displayed to the
player. The most common of these poses are running, walking,
jumping and crouching. All of the other versions of these sprites

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can be specific to the game depending on what the character actions are in the game such
as a shooting sprite.
3D isometric sprites are 2D sprites that give the impression of depth in the
form of 3D. These types of sprites are often used in mobile games such as
Game Of War which are 2 dimensional but look 3 dimensional, they do this
by using these 3D isometric sprites. As you can see this building here looks
like its 3D to give the game an interesting. Mobile
games use this technique a lot as it makes the game
look more graphically appealing and also allows the
game to make objects seem further away than what
they actually are.

Concept art:
Concept art is used when a new game idea is being thought up as it allows designers to get
their initial ideas down onto paper so they can develop them. It also allows the designers to
show other people such as inventors what certain aspects of the game will look like such as
the characters or certain buildings. This image here is
a piece of concept art for Guild Wars 2 showing what
a new piece of armour would look like. It clearly
shows the separate pieces of the armour and how
they would fit together. These designs would have
been shown around to different designers for the
game to get several opinions on it, then if necessary small changes would have been made
to get it perfect. Once the designs have been approved they would then be given to one of
the developers of the game who would begin to make the designs on the computer. Once
theyve been completed they would then be added to the game. Concept art is also used so
show the players what the developers are currently working on to get them hyped for the
new items that may be added to the game. It will also allow the team to get feedback from
the players as these are the people that will be playing the game the most so need to like
the new ideas. Concept art can also be drawn by people outside of the development team
such as the players themselves. If the player has a new idea for something that could be
added, they could draw up some concept art and send it to the developers to then hopefully
get added to the game in the future.

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Characters:
Characters in games have been getting more realistic with
the development of laser scanning which allows developers
to get a base shape of a humans head and can then add
textures to it. Doing this allows games to have very realistic
looking characters as they have literally been scanned into
the computer. These three heads on the right are taken from
a game called DayZ. This game uses photorealism to get its characters looking as realistic as
possible, it also uses very detailed textures which allows the development team to give the
characters very detailed faces. This is what one of the character textures looks like, as you
can see it uses very detailed graphics which allow you to see individual hairs in the beards
and the lines which make up the skin. Older character textures
didnt have had this level of detail and mainly used block colours
when it came to skin colour, the DayZ characters though have
different skin tones throughout to make them look very realistic.
2001 Halo: Combat Evolved 2013 DayZ

Weapons:
Just like with all other graphical aspects of games the weapons are also getting more visually
advanced thanks to more detailed models and the improvement in game engines which
support higher resolution textures. Weapons are the key to any shooting game so getting
them to look the best is very important, this can be done by improving the textures of the
weapons, the muzzle flash when the gun is shot and also how the scopes work.
This is a screenshot from Call Of Duty: World At War which was
released in 2008 and is one of the first games in the COD series. As
you can see from the screenshot the weapons arent that detailed
and have basic textures that dont have much to them. You also
cant see through the scope as its just a solid texture that isnt
transparent, this shows its an older game as they didnt have the
ability to make it see through.
This screenshot is from Call Of Duty: Black Ops 2 which was released
in 2012, 4 years after World At War. This version of the game had
much better graphics which meant the weapons also looked more
realistic. The most noticeable difference is the textures. These are
much more detailed and brighter, the metal parts of the gun even
reflect the sunlight when the gun is moved in a certain way. The scope of the weapons is
also see through unlike with the older game. This is due to the different game engine it uses
which supports this type of transparent texture.

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Vehicles:
Vehicles are another aspect of video games that keep getting better, once again due to the
improved models and textures that the newer game engines support which allow the
developers to creating higher resolution textures. Game series like ARMA are a great way to
see how the vehicles have been improved over the four years between the two games as
they are almost identical but have just been improved slightly. The screenshot of the tank
on the left is from ARMA 2 and the tank on the right is from ARMA 3. The biggest difference
between the two tanks is the textures used on them, apart from that the models are very
similar with the old difference being more detail on the tracks and aerials. The texture on
the newer model are much brighter and crisper and also have much more detail as theyre a
higher resolution. When you get really close to the vehicles in the game these differences
will be most noticeable as theyre only subtle.

Environment:
The game environment is where the player spends the majority of the game time so making
it look good is vital to a game being successful. These are two screenshots of the ARMA 2
and ARMA 3 game which were released four years apart.

Screenshot of ARMA 2 game from 2009. You can see

this game has very good graphics for when it was
released and is still played today. The textures used
are very realistic but give the game a sort of dull look
compared to the new ARMA 3 textures. The trees are
detailed and have great texture but compared to the
newer game also give the game a dull look as they
dont shine in the sunlight.
Screenshot of ARMA 3 game from 2013. The map is
different from the ARMA 2 game but it has all the
same features. You can instantly see from the
screenshot that the game is brighter and more
attractive to the player, the ground is also more
detailed as the textures are higher quality. The trees
are also better detail as they reflect the light in a
certain way which make them look real and also cast better shadows on the ground.

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Texture art:
Texture art refers to the textures used in a game. Everything in a game has a texture as the
mesh models dont come with one, this means that someone in the development team has
to design and create all of the individual textures. The simple textures
for the game such as the dirt and grass can be found on websites which
specialise in that type of texture art so the developers can focus on
more complex textures such as this face. Textures work by being
wrapped around the model so each texture is model specific, that
means this face texture will only work with that specific character
model otherwise parts of the texture might be out of position.
For textures such as ones that will be used on the ground they need to be made so the
textures join together without a visible join line. This can be difficult for texture that are
complex such as bricks but its not so difficult for dirt and grass.
This is an example of a seamless texture, the one on the left
is the texture on its own and the image on the right is two
joined together.

Computer game graphics conclusion

The graphics of a game can be one of its main selling points along with the gameplay so for a
games company to get it just right is vital to the game being successful which is why
developers spend times designing and creating each aspect of the game very carefully. They
do this through concept art as it is an excellent way for them to get their ideas across to the
rest of the development team and also allows them to tweak designs easily. As games get
more advanced and start using new game engines which support insanely detailed textures
and models the level of realism in games constantly improves. This is due to the
improvement in characters, the weapons they use and also the vehicles they can drive, but
most importantly the environment in which they play as thats what the player sees the
most of.

Graphics research
Pixel
Picture element:
Pixels are very small squares that make up every digital image, they
consist of three sections which are made of three different colours, Red
Green and Blue. Pixels in an image are a constant size which means when
you enlarge an image the pizels are enlarged at the same rate, this means

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the image quality goes down when you enlarge an image. This is the opposite for when you
shrink an image though, the pixels shrink down improving the image quality. An images
quality depends on the amount of pixels per square inch, for example an image with 3000
pixels per square inch would look better than an image with only 700 pixels per square inch.
Most modern computer screen have a resoloution of 1920x1080 which means there are
2,730,600 pixels which make up the screen, this allows for a very high picture quality. The
intensity of a pixels is how bright it is, for example a very white pixel will have a much higher
intensity compared to a pixel which is black. This means that pixels with a higher intensity
will stand out more on a dark background, this can be useful when trying to make a logo
stand out for example.

Image resolution:
The image on your computer screen is made up out of millions
of pixels, or on older lower resolution screen it may only be
thousands. Images are created on the screen by changing the
colour of pixels so the more pixels you have on the screen the
better the image will look as it has more detail. The screen
resolution tells you how many pixels your screen can display horizontally
and vertically, for example. A screen with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 has
1920 pixels horizontally and 1080 vertically so the entire screen is made up
from 2,073,600 pixels. Websites that contain video such as YouTube allows
the user to choose what resolution the video is played in so that people with
slower internet connections can still watch the video without it buffering, but this comes at
price of the quality. Anything with a resolution 720p or higher is classed as HD or high
definition. Computer games allow you to change the resolution of the game to best fit your
computer screens resolution, they do this automatically but sometimes it doesnt work so
the user has to manually change it. If the game is in windowed mode and the player changes
the game resolution to one smaller than their screen the game will appear smaller, people
do this if they have very slow computers as it makes it easier for the computer to render the
game.

Intensity:
A pixels intensity is measured from 0-255, with 0 being fully black
and 255 being fully white. This is also applied to the RGB colours
used in editing programmes such as Photoshop where 0 is still
black but 255 would be the brightest red, green or blue you can
get. The bottom image has the slider all the way to the right and is at 255, you can see from
the slider how the red gets brighter the nearer to the right you go. This would be the same
for green and blue. If you wanted to find out the intensity of a pixel on an image you can
simply zoom into the image so you can see the individual pixels, use the colour picker tool

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and then select the pixel you want to look at. You can then open up the colour pallet and
see where the RGB sliders are at.
This is what the pixel intensite of a yellow pixel looks like as to
make yellow you need 50% red and 50% green, if the yellow
wasnt as bright the green slider would be futher to the left and
the intensity number would be lower than 255.

Pixels conclusion
Pixels are needed to make any digital game work as without them the player wouldnt be
able to see what they are playing. With the improvement of screens that have higher
resolutions and sharper images, video games are only getting more aesthetically pleasing.
The higher a screens resolution the more pixels it contains which means that the image
looks more detailed as theres more pixels making up each part of the image, these pixels
have their own intensity which controls how bright or dark that pixel is and gets changed
hundreds of times a second when playing a game as the screen is constantly creating a new
image for the player to see.

Types of digital graphics

Raster images (bmp,gif,tiff,jpg):
Raster images are more common than Vector images due to the
extra level of detail raster images can take, they are also much
easier to edit and are openable by pretty much any piece of
software unlike with Vectors which are only supported by certain
types of special software. One of the downsides of raster images over vector ones is that
they produce much larger file sizes due to the extra information they have to hold, this is
because the file has to remember where each individual pixel is saves and what colour that
pixel is.

BMP:
The BMP file format sometimes referred to as a bitmap image file or simply a bitmap, is a
raster graphics image file format used to store bitmap digital images. BMP a mostly
outdated image file format for computers which can only be used with Windows. The
format was developed by Microsoft for storing bitmap files in a device-independent bitmap
(DIB) format that would allow Windows to display the bitmap on any type of display device.
BMP files always contain RGB data which can range from 1 bit to 24 bit. 1-bit: 2 colours
(monochrome), 4-bit: 16 colours, 8-bit: 256 colours, 24-bit: 16,777,216 colours, mixes 256
tints of Red with 256 tints of Green and Blue

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GIF:
GIF file format stands for Grpahics Interchange Format, it was created in 1987 by
compuserve with the purpose of transfring images quickly across slow connections. It can
only display 256 separate colours but can be interlaced with progressive loading which
means it shows a low quality version of the image first and then adds more detail as It loads.
It allows for single-bit transparency which means one colour can be chosen to be
transparent. GIF images can be animated which makes them great for simple animations
which dont have much movement. The best uses for GIF images include web graphics
where few colours are going to be used (A mouse cursor for example). Small icons which
may also be used on websites. Animations where not much movement or colour is needed.
Simple images such as line drawings with single-colour borders (Basic blueprints).

TIFF:
TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) is a file format that is strictly only used to store bitmap
data. TIFF files dont contain text or vector data like other formats such as PNGs, even
though the file format would allow for it too. The TIFF format is still quite popular today
even though it was one of the first image formats to be created. One of the benefits of the
TIFF format is that its recognized be the majority of image editing software meaning they
can be opened and saved, they also work across lots of different operating softwares such
as Windows and Mac.

JPG:
A jpeg file stands for Join Photographic Experts Group, this file format was designed in 1986.
Jpeg images can display millions of colours in a 16-bit data format, they are also the
standard file format for most digital cameras. Jpegs uses a very complex compression
algorithm to reduce the file size by 60%-75%, this makes them very useful In situations
where a small file size is more important than the maximum image quality. This format of
file is compatible across many platforms such as PCs and Macs which makes it a great
choose due to its ease of use. Its also compatible on other programs such as web browsers
and images editors. The best uses for jpegs are for still images, real-world images such as
photos, complex colouring and the shading of light and dark.

Vector images (psd,wmf,fla,ai)

Vector images arent made out of pixels so can be enlarged or shrunk
down without losing any image quality, unlike with raster images which
become pixilated. Raster images require a piece of software designed
to create them due to the different file types which they get saved as. A

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downside to vector images is that cant be shaded very well as theres no pixels to
individually change.

PSD:
The PSD (Photoshop Document) file is a layered image file only used in Adobe PhotoShop as
its the default format that Photoshop uses for saving data. A PSD is a proprietary file that
allows the user to work with the images individual layers even after the file has been saved
and re-opened again. When an image is complete, Photoshop allows the user to flatten the
layers and convert the flat image into a .JPG, .GIF, .TIFF. Once a PSD image has been flatten
by conversion however, it cannot be converted back to PSD meaning the individual layers
are lost.

WMF:
WMF files are most commonly associated with Windows metafiles. These files are stored in
a graphic file format and contain a series of drawing operations that are used to create
vector images and raster graphics. The WMF file format was created in the 1990's and has
been widely replaced by more recent and versatile image file formats, including the JPG and
GIF file formats.

FLA:
This file type is created by the Adobe Flash program, a Flash animation software by Adobe.
FLA files are a binary file format based on the Microsoft Compound File Format and are
editable and mostly contain an animation or whole movie in Flash which can then be
opened in other animation software if they support it. For use on websites the FLA files are
most commonly saved in another format, namely Adobe's SWF file format.

AI:
AI files are used for vector graphics and are used in the Adobe Illustrator drawing software
which is a popular vector graphics-based drawing program. The AI format is only openable
with specific software due to the special encoding it uses to save the Vector graphics. You
can change them to JPGs though using an online file converter.

Types of digital graphics conclusion

There are two types of digital graphics that can be made on a computer, raster and vector.
Raster images are made out of pixels so loose quality when they get resized too big or to

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small but are supported by almost every programme on a computer that is able to open or
import images. Vector images on the other hand arent made out of pixels so dont lose any
quality when they get resized, the downside to using these types of images though is they
arent supported as well as raster images are.

File extensions
Bmp:
The BMP file format sometimes referred to as a bitmap image file or simply a bitmap, is a
raster graphics image file format used to store bitmap digital images. BMP a mostly
outdated image file format for computers which can only be used with Windows. The
format was developed by Microsoft for storing bitmap files in a device-independent bitmap
(DIB) format that would allow Windows to display the bitmap on any type of display device.
BMP files always contain RGB data which can range from 1 bit to 24 bit. 1-bit: 2 colours
(monochrome), 4-bit: 16 colours, 8-bit: 256 colours, 24-bit: 16,777,216 colours, mixes 256
tints of Red with 256 tints of Green and Blue

Png:
A PNG file format stands for Portable Network Graphics. This type of file was designed in the
mid 1990s as a way around patent issues with the GIF format. It was designed to include
benefits from both Gifs and JPEGs making it an excellent all-round file format. PNG-8 files
are very similar GIFs in that they can only display 256 colours and only allow for 1-bit
transparency. They are even smaller than GIF files. PNG-24 files allow 24-bit colour which is
similar to a JPEG, this means they can include over 16 million colours which makes them
great for vibrant images. PNG files use alpha-channels, this means they allow transparency
to be set on a scale between opaque and completely transparent, this means they are
excellent when creating a faded or translucent look. PNG files are best used for web images
such as logos as they allow for transparency and fading affects which some logos may
contain. Theyre also great for complex images like photographs if the file size isnt as
important as the image quality.

Gif:
GIF file format stands for Grpahics Interchange Format, it was created in 1987 by
compuserve with the purpose of transfring images quickly across slow connections. It can
only display 256 separate colours but can be interlaced with progressive loading which
means it shows a low quality version of the image first and then adds more detail as It loads.
It allows for single-bit transparency which means one colour can be chosen to be
transparent. GIF images can be animated which makes them great for simple animations

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which dont have much movement. The best uses for GIF images include web graphics
where few colours are going to be used (A mouse cursor for example). Small icons which
may also be used on websites. Animations where not much movement or colour is needed.
Simple images such as line drawings with single-colour borders (Basic blueprints).

Tiff:
TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) is a file format that is strictly only used to store bitmap
data. TIFF files dont contain text or vector data like other formats such as PNGs, even
though the file format would allow for it too. The TIFF format is still quite popular today
even though it was one of the first image formats to be created. One of the benefits of the
TIFF format is that its recognized be the majority of image editing software meaning they
can be opened and saved, they also work across lots of different operating softwares such
as Windows and Mac.

Jpg:
A jpeg file stands for Join Photographic Experts Group, this file format was designed in 1986.
Jpeg images can display millions of colours in a 16-bit data format, they are also the
standard file format for most digital cameras. Jpegs uses a very complex compression
algorithm to reduce the file size by 60%-75%, this makes them very useful In situations
where a small file size is more important than the maximum image quality. This format of
file is compatible across many platforms such as PCs and Macs which makes it a great
choose due to its ease of use. Its also compatible on other programs such as web browsers
and images editors. The best uses for jpegs are for still images, real-world images such as
photos, complex colouring and the shading of light and dark.

Psd:
The PSD (Photoshop Document) file is a layered image file only used in Adobe PhotoShop as
its the default format that Photoshop uses for saving data. A PSD is a proprietary file that
allows the user to work with the images individual layers even after the file has been saved
and re-opened again. When an image is complete, Photoshop allows the user to flatten the
layers and convert the flat image into a .JPG, .GIF, .TIFF. Once a PSD image has been flatten
by conversion however, it cannot be converted back to PSD meaning the individual layers
are lost.

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Files extensions conclusion

There are lots of different files extensions that exist which all serve their own individual
purpose, some of these extensions are only designed to work with specific programmes
whilst others are designed to work with almost any programme. The different files are able
to hold specific information which makes them more useful in certain situations but they
also have different levels of compression which can be one of the main reason people use a
certain type of file.

Compression
Lossy & Lossless:
Video compression is essential for the practical use of videos on a
computer, this is because video files can quickly become very large
resulting in them taking up hard drive space. To reduce the
amount of space they take up they can be compressed using Lossy
or Lossless compression. Both of these are video compression
techniques used to reduce the size of video files. The advantages
of compressing video files are that it makes the files quicker and
easier to move around due to the reduce amount of data, this also means that they will be
quicker to upload and download. The disadvantage of compressing video footage is that you
will lose some quality of the video, depending on what compression technique you use will
change how much quality is lost. Lossy compression is used when the quality of the video
doesnt matter as much as the file size, this means that you get more compression on the
files but loose a higher amount of quality than with lossless compression. Lossless
compression is used when file size isnt as important as the final quality of the video this is
because it doesnt provide as much compression as lossy does but it retains more of the
original video quality.

Image capture
Scanner:
Scanners are devices that analyses the surface of an
image or an object and turn it into a two dimensional
digital image, the way they do this depends on the
type of scanner it is. In a Flatbed Scanner a bright
light illuminated the images whilst an array of
capacitors moves across the images recording the
displayed light. Another type of scanner is a Sheet Feed scanner, this operates exactly like a
Flatbed Scanner except instead of the image or object being laid down it is fed through the

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scanner via a roller. This type of scanner is good for scanning large amounts of documents
as it is more automated than a Flatbed Scanner so can be left unattended to do a large work
load. Scanners are the best way of getting a physical document onto a computer as scanners
dont make shadows on the document and keep them perfectly flat. If you were to try and
photograph a document and then upload it to a computer, it wouldnt look as professional
as there might be shadows on the document and it also wouldnt be a perfect top down
picture.

Digital camera:
A digital camera works by focusing light onto a sensor made out of
silicon, this sensor is made up of a grid of tiny photosites that are
sensitive to light. It then records the light detected and creates a
digital image. There are four main types of digital cameras. Camera
phones are very portable and can take decent images but may not
have as many featured or options as higher ends digital cameras and they dont work to well
in low light situations. The next best type of digital camera is a point-and-
shoot camera, these types of camera are great for beginners as they
take better pictures than most camera phones but still provided the
same ease of transport due to the small size. The downside to this type
of camera is that they still dont work well in low light situations and
most of them dont have interchangeable lenses. If the user is looking
for a much more advanced camera but doesnt want to purchase a DSLR they can settle for
a bridge camera, these cameras are great as they offer high quality images and often have a
very powerful zoom. The downside to this type of camera is they dont have changeable
lenses and are less portable than point-and-shoot cameras due to their bulkier size. The best
type of digital camera is a DSLR, these cameras provided the very best image quality whilst
offering changeable lenses and large sensors which allows for great images even in low light
situations. The downside to this type of camera is they are much more expensive than the
others and more difficult to use due to the complex lenses and settings.

Tablet:
Just like on mobile phones tablets also have cameras that
are getting better meaning more people are taking pictures
with them. Theres no real point in using a tablet to take
pictures instead of a mobile phone though as they all have
the same type of camera except the tablets are much
bulkier and harder to transport than a phone. One benefit
of using a tablet is that it has a front facing camera which
means its easy to take pictures of yourself, the bigger screen also means you can clearly see
what the camera sees unlike with a mobile device. Most people use the front camera for

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video calls though as it allows them to see the person theyre talking to whilst being on
camera themselves.

Image capture conclusion

There are several different ways of capturing an image as some are designed to be more
practical than others but not as good quality, and others are designed to take amazing
images but arent as portable. Then theres stationary types of image capture such as
scanners which are designed to take images in a very controlled environment and then
upload them instantly to a computer.

Optimising
Target image output:
The target destination of the images can play an important role when optimising an image,
if the images is to be used on a website which will make it available to download the image
will have to be saved in a smaller file size to reduce the download times. This is also done to
reduce the space it takes up in the servers. Another factor they will have to take into
account is how compatible the file type is, if it's a less supported type of file it may cause
issues for people when they attempt to open it with a certain program. The goal of
optimising an image is to get the right balance between image quality and file size, this can
be difficult to do as it changes for lots of different situations. The best way to get around
this problem is to have one main version of the image which has the least amount of
compression on it and then to just save another copy of this image but with higher
compression meaning its easy to share around and upload. This will only work if the person
has lots of storage space though as it requires them to save two copies of each image, this is
done though so the original quality of the image isnt lost.

Image bit depth:

Bit Depth is another way of optimising a file as it allows
for great control over the size of a file. Images with a
higher Bit Depth will load slower on websites and take
longer to download but will have a much higher quality
as they contain more pixels, finding the correct balance
between the quality and the file size is very important
depending on where the image is going to be used.
Images on websites usually have a lower Bit Depth to help reduce the loading times as it
means the persons computer is having to load a smaller file. Images that are used in places
where quality is more important than loading times use a higher bit depth, an example of

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this is on desktop backgrounds. Here people want a high quality image to make their
desktop look nice so having a high bit depth is important. Depending on how large an image
is also affects how important bit depth is. For smaller images a lower bit depth will be okay
as they wont be seen as much, but for a large image that may be used for a websites
background its important to have a higher bit depth as people are more likely to zoom into
the image.

Image resolution & dimensions:

The resolution of an image can also be used for
optimizing purposes, for example making the
resolution larger will work best for images that
need to be better quality and not have a smaller
file size. If the quality of the image isn't as
important as the file size the resolution can be
lowered allowing for the required smaller file. This
is up to the user to decide which one they will optimise, it will most often depend on how
the image will be used.
When optimising an image changing the dimension (Width & Height) can be very useful, this
all depends on where the image is going to be used. If the image is going to be shrunk down
from its original size the image quality will remain roughly the same as the pixels aren't
being stretched, but if the image is going to be enlarged instead it stretches the pixels out
causing the image to loose quality. Depending on where the image will be used depends on
whether the user should resize the image with a risk of losing some of its original quality.

Compression:
File compression is essential for the practical use of videos and
images on a computer, this is because video and image files can
quickly become very large resulting in them taking up hard drive
space. To reduce the amount of space they take up they can be
compressed using Lossy or Lossless compression. Both of these are
compression techniques used to reduce the size of files. The
advantages of compressing files is that it makes moving them
much quicker due to the reduced amount of data, this also means that they will be quicker
to upload and download. The disadvantage of compressing files is that you lose quality of,
depending on what compression technique you use will change how much quality is lost.
Lossy compression is used when the quality of the video doesnt matter as much as the file
size, this means that you get more compression on the files but loose a higher amount of
quality than with lossless compression. Lossless compression is used when file size isnt as
important as the final quality of the video this is because it doesnt provide as much
compression as lossy does but it retains more of the original video quality. Compressing files
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is one of the easiest ways to optimize the loading time of a website or game as it means the
users computer doesnt have as big files to open.

Optimising conclusion
Optimisation can be vital in certain situations such as when uploading a file to the internet
or sharing it over a drive as its important to keep the file size small to reduce the transfer
time and also how much space it takes up. If an image is just being stored on a computer
though and wont be transferred around optimisation isnt as important as the image quality
is more important than the file size.

Storage of image assets

File size:
Image assets are relatively easy to store as most of the time the
files arent more than 3MB, this obviously depends what file
type the image was saved at though. Depending what type of
image the file is also make a huge difference. For example,
bitmap images have very large file sizes compared to vector
images due to the extra data that is stored, this data ranges from
the location of each pixel to the thousands of colours which make up the image. Jpegs uses
a very complex compression algorithm to reduce the file size by 60%-75%, this makes them
very useful In situations where a small file size is more important than the maximum image
quality. PNG files are best used for web images such as logos as they allow for transparency
and fading affects which some logos may contain. Theyre also great for complex images like
photographs if the file size isnt as important as the image quality. The most commonly
used ones are png and jpg. Vector images have very small file sizes compared to those of a
bitmap image due to the reduction in data that is remembered, this is because the file only
has to remember the location of solid shapes and their colours, not the location of millions
of pixels. Most games use very compressed image files as its important to keep the loading
times down, this also reduces the total file size of the game so its not as big when the user
downloads it.

File-naming conventions:
Getting into a habit of naming files correctly is very
important, especially when it comes to a workplace. This
is because it can save lots of time and somebody the
hassle of opening every document till they find the
correct one, it also means the file can be easily located

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by using the search feature on the file explorer. In a company they may have specific names
that are given to different types of documents. For example, if its an Excel budget the title
may be Budget 06-03-2016, it would be wrote like this as it says what the document is and
when its for. Naming image files correctly is just as important as naming any other file type
correctly, especially when it comes to a games files. If a user was to access a games files to
edit them and all of the images were named Image1 then they would have a tough time
locating what they wanted especially for games since they contain hundreds of different
images. Naming images follows the same rules as naming documents, name it what it is. If
its the logo for the game name it gamelogo, if its a crosshair from the game name it
crosshair 1 or crosshair reddot depending on what it is. Not naming files correctly is
seen as unprofessional and could get an employee in trouble if they keep doing it
repeatedly.

Asset management:
Asset management is similar to file naming in that its done to make finding certain
documents easier, it also keeps the computers hard drive clean as everythings in organized
files and not in random locations. Asset management is mostly done on company computers
which are used by multiple people, but it is also
implemented by some people on their home
computers. Asset management is taken very seriously
when it comes to packing a games files together since
there can be thousands of different files which would
clog up the game files if they werent split up into
individual files like in this image. When you open the game files though file explorer this is
what you see. Inside the materials folder you will find all of the different textures and
materials used in the game. Doing it this way means everything is nicely organized and can
be easily found. Games which have excellent mod support often have a mods folder which is
empty when the user installs the game but can be filled with mods for the game if the user
wishes. Doing it this way makes it very easy to install mods and also keeps them away from
all of the important game files meaning users can delete them without worrying about
deleting important files.

Storage of image assets conclusion

Learning how to store assets on a computer correctly is a vital skill if a person wants to work
in a business that shares its files between employees, this is because it reduces the time
taken to find certain files and also keeps everything in the correct place so anyone can find it
easily. Some of the main skills are knowing what to name a document and filing them into
the correct files, this could be in date order or in the order in which theyve been
completed. All of this is decided by the employer though and then the employees have to
follow along.

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