443 15 Graphics From its first programs, MacPaint and MacDraw, to today’s photo- realistic 3-D images, the Mac has always dazzled us with its graphics prowess. You can see evidence of the Mac’s digital artistry everywhere you look: magazine ads, product packaging, posters, audio CDs, technical schematics, book covers, even TV commercials and hit movies. Although a computer graphics program won’t automatically make you an artist, it will let you do things that are time-consuming, expensive, or even impossible with traditional tools. With the appropriate software, you can easily draw infinite variations of a design, test different color schemes for a business logo, make an eye-catching chart for a presentation, adjust the sharpness and contrast in a scanned photograph, or create a 3-D mock-up of your latest invention. Whether you’re a first-time artist, business presenter, or professional designer, there’s a graphics package to meet your needs. In this chapter, we’ll show you the different kinds of graphics you can create on the Mac, help you pick the right applications, and reveal some tricks for getting the most out of your favorite programs. 444 Chapter 15: Graphics Contributors Contents Ted Alspach (TA) is Graphics on the Macintosh...........................................446 the chapter editor. Pixels........................................................................................446 Rob Teeple (RT) is Vectors.....................................................................................449 president of Teeple Graphics, an AppleVAR and World Wide Web Pixel-Based Graphics .....................................................450 services company. An Overview of Pixels ..............................................................450 Steven Frank (SF) is Pixelized File Formats...............................................................451 a Southern California- Painting and Image Editing......................................................453 based writer and consultant specializing Fractal Design Painter ..............................................................453 in Macintosh graphics Painting Tools ..........................................................................454 and entertainment software. Other Paint Programs ..............................................................455 Aileen Abernathy Basic Painting...........................................................................457 (AA) and Ben Long General Paint Tips....................................................................458 (BL) contributed to past editions of The Photoshop ...............................................................................460 Macintosh Bible, from Photoshop Tips ........................................................................461 which parts of this chapter were taken. Photoshop Wannabes ..............................................................464 Photoshop-Compatible Plug-Ins...............................................466 Introductory Image Editing......................................................468 Vector-Based Graphics ..................................................468 QuickDraw versus PostScript....................................................469 Bézier Curves ...........................................................................470 Draw Software .........................................................................470 Drawing Tips ...........................................................................472 Illustration Software .................................................................472 PostScript Tips .........................................................................473 Illustrator or FreeHand?............................................................473 PostScript Plug-Ins ...................................................................475 Supplementary PostScript Software .........................................477 Contents 445 3-D Graphics and Animation ........................................477 Modeling .................................................................................478 Texture Mapping .....................................................................479 Rendering ................................................................................479 The Ultimate Renderer.............................................................480 3-D Programs ..........................................................................482 The Bryce Breakthrough ..........................................................483 CAD Programs .........................................................................484 Animation Software .................................................................484 Miscellaneous Graphics Programs ................................486 Clip Art and Photo Samplers....................................................486 Graphing Software...................................................................490 446 Chapter 15: Graphics Graphics on the Macintosh (TA) Graphics created on the Macintosh can be broken down into three categories: • Pixel-based graphics are images created by a grid of differently colored pixels. Pixels are never added or deleted from these images, but their colors are changed. These graphics are often referred to as raster images. Common pixel-based graphics include scans and photographs. • Vector-based graphics are images that consist of outlines that form shapes. It takes less memory to define a shape using outlines than pixels. Vectors allow images to be printed at any resolution. Common vector-based graphics include logos and type. • 3-D graphics are graphics that exist in 3-D space. Because very few methods exist for viewing 3-D graphics, they are usually converted to either pixel-based or vector-based graphics for viewing or printing. With 3-D graphics software you can create architectural drawings and scale models. Many 3-D programs offer anima- tion capabilities. While these are the basic categories, most programs overlap into two or even three of these areas, but are primarily focused on one specific category. For instance, Adobe Photoshop is a pixel-based graphics program, but its Clipping Path feature is decid- edly vector-based. Extreme 3-D is a 3-D program, but it can import vector graphics and can export finished images as pixel-based artwork. Pixels (SF) The word pixel (from the original picture element) refers to a single dot on a com- puter monitor (or, to be technically correct, the “smallest image-forming element of a video display”). A hundred pixels, placed end to end, create a line. A thousand pixels, all lumped together, create a filled circle, square, and so on. Each pixel is a separate element, but when viewed together, they form shapes that we recognize. When you were younger, you may have pressed your face against a television screen and noticed that the images you were seeing were really just a bunch of multicolored dots. These “multicolored dots” are pixels. (If you never did this as a kid, go ahead and try it now.) A great way to picture exactly how pixel-based images are formed is to take a sheet of graph paper and start coloring in squares to form a picture of something. Up close, it looks very blocky, but if you hold it further away, the jagged edges become less clearly defined, giving your image a smoother overall appearance. This process of coloring in Graphics on the Macintosh 447 The Need for Speed (TA/AA/BL) If you plan to work with 24-bit images, 3-D graphics, or animation, you’ll need a fast Mac, lots of RAM, a spacious hard disk, and a 24-bit display. If time is money, you might also want to boost your Mac’s performance with a graphics accelerator board, particularly if you use Photoshop. There are two basic types of graphics accelerators: QuickDraw boards (also called accelerated video cards), which speed up screen redraws, and DSP (digital signal processor) cards, which ramp up certain processor-intensive operations. QuickDraw Acceleration A QuickDraw accelerator speeds up display tasks such as scrolling and zooming—particularly important if you’re working in 24-bit color and/or on a large monitor. (The acceleration isn’t limited to graphics—you’ll also be able to scroll through a spreadsheet or word processing document much faster.) Prices vary, depending on the Mac model, monitor size, screen res- olution (pixels per inch), and accelerator features. If your monitor is 16 inches or smaller, Radius’ PrecisionColor Pro 24XP ($600) is a good buy. If cost isn’t a factor, however, and you want super-fast screen redraws and goodies such as high-resolution CMYK acceleration, then an on-board DSP chip, SuperMac’s Thunder II GX•1360 ($3,300) is the way to go. DSP Acceleration The most time-consuming part of graphics work isn’t screen redraw, however, it’s the number- crunching routines used in special-effects filters, image resizing and rotation, JPEG decom- pression, and color-mode changes. Happily, DSP accelerators are tailor-made for those operations. Painter and Photoshop can use the DSP chips in AV Macs to boost performance, but don’t despair if an AV Mac isn’t in your future. DayStar Digital, Radius, and SuperMac offer DSP accelerators that make specific operations five to ten times faster on other Macs. SuperMac’s ThunderStorm for Adobe Photoshop ($500) is arguably the best (and most economical) choice. At this writing, DSP accelerators are available only for Photoshop, although the optimized filters bundled with the cards will work in most