The CorelDRAW Guide to Vector Design

Digital artwork takes many different forms. As an aspiring designer you’re probably familiar with a few. Vector art is one type of digital art that is found in both the creative and business worlds. Whether you’re exploring design for an artistic outlet or you plan to build a career as a graphic designer, mastering vector graphics is an essential skill.

Vector design is most notably recognized for its flawless scalability. As a designer, you’ll enjoy the versatility of vectors, easily adapting your art for different mediums ranging from full-scale billboards to pocket-sized flyers in print mediums and even smaller in digital mediums.

Here, we’ve put together a comprehensive guide on vector design to help you get started. This complete guide to vector graphics covers the technology and application of vector art, giving you the information and core concepts that you need to start designing with vector graphics.

The World of Vector Art

Vector art is everywhere–taking up visual space in both the digital and physical worlds. It's a creative medium favored by artists as much as it is a practical medium favored by web designers and illustrators. Because vector graphics have evolved alongside computer technology, they still are just as relevant today as they were in the 20th century.

Vector graphics offer designers the freedom to scale without limits. The technology behind vector graphics uses mathematically defined elements for consistent scaling, rendering an image that is always clear and free of distortion.

Vectors are commonplace in technical fields like graphic design, media, and advertising. Businesses use vectors for logos and imagery in their branding kits. Media companies use vectors to create illustrations for graphic novels, animated shows, and video game elements.

And marketing professionals use a variety of vectors to illustrate important information about the products or services they are promoting. You've probably seen thousands of examples ranging from infographics and charts to logos and illustrations.

The possibilities with vector graphics are limited only to your creative imagination. There are many paths to choose, and early in your design career, you will make choices that will shape your specific path—starting with the level of technical proficiency that you put with your creative skills. Next, we'll dive deep into the technical skills required to work with vector graphics.

How Does it All Work?

You likely already have a handle on the artistic side of creating art, so here, we'll focus a bit more on vector art's technical side. Vector illustrations are created in a software program like CorelDRAW. As a designer, you’re probably familiar with image editors. Creating vector graphics is really as simple as learning a new technique with familiar programs.

The designs are made up of a series of points and mathematical equations and are stored as a text-based file. These equations give vectors their lossless scalability, making them a practical design choice for projects of all sizes. Getting a handle on the fundamentals of vector graphics will help you understand when, where, and why to use vector image assets.

Working with vector graphics can be a powerful skill in any designer's repertoire. This blend of art and math produces impressive, versatile designs perfect for many projects. Learning the technology used to create vector graphics is just the first step. Designers also need a functional handle on digital image file types and how each works to make the right design choices for each project. Other image types like bitmap images may be more common overall, but vectors have a very well-carved out niche in the design world, making them a must-have skill for any designer. Vector graphics have shaped how we create modern graphics destined for the internet, and they have streamlined animation art. They've opened the door to a new digital medium for creators, finding applications that are both functional and artistic.

Vector Design Skills

In previous articles, we’ve covered many topics relating to vector graphics—what they are, how they work, and tips and insights about working in the graphic design industry. Although we’ve previously outlined things like how to pursue a career in vector graphics and how to make money with your art, there are still more topics to cover, especially when it comes to specific vector design skills.

There are certain vector art topics and skills you’ll need to learn in your day-to-day work as a graphic designer. The following articles outline some of the most important graphic design skills for beginners. We cover topics ranging from tools and features of your vector design software to artistic disciplines and design principles all digital artists should know.

We hope this guide is helpful as you practice design techniques, hone your skills, and explore the world of vector art.

Many things set vector design apart from other formats, including how file data is stored and how images can be infinitely scaled. As a graphic designer, you need a thorough understanding of these special features and the benefits of vector design. However, some graphic design basics are consistent across all digital art formats. Also, different graphic design software options often have similar features and tools regardless of whether they’re a vector or raster image editor.

The following articles outline some art and graphic design fundamentals all artists and designers should know, no matter which format or type of image file you’re working with. Understanding these basic digital art concepts will help you become a more accomplished, well-rounded designer, and they’ll help you create great graphic art.

The skills needed for a successful graphic design career go far beyond any natural talent or creative inclination that you might possess. The lines between art and technology are increasingly blurred in today's technology-enabled world. Vector graphics are a design element that can be found all around us. Vectors are an art form powered by technology that have found uses in both digital and print design. This guide thoroughly examines how designers use vector art, including a look at the technology and an overview of key information to help you develop a solid understanding of when and how to use vector graphics.

As you work through this series, we'll cover additional graphic design skills to help new designers succeed. But first, let's start with a closer look at vector graphics in this first article in the series: What is Vector Art?

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