In computer graphics

Computer graphics

Computer graphics are graphics created using computers and, more generally, the representation and manipulation of image data by a computer with help from specialized software and hardware....

, graphics software or image editing software is a program

Computer program

A computer program is a sequence of instructions written to perform a specified task with a computer. A computer requires programs to function, typically executing the program's instructions in a central processor. The program has an executable form that the computer can use directly to execute...

 or collection of programs that enable a person to manipulate visual images on a computer

Computer

A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...

.

Computer graphics can be classified into two distinct categories: raster graphics

Raster graphics

In computer graphics, a raster graphics image, or bitmap, is a data structure representing a generally rectangular grid of pixels, or points of color, viewable via a monitor, paper, or other display medium...

 and vector graphics

Vector graphics

Vector graphics is the use of geometrical primitives such as points, lines, curves, and shapes or polygon, which are all based on mathematical expressions, to represent images in computer graphics...

. Many graphics programs focus exclusively on either vector or raster graphics, but there are a few that combine them in interesting ways. It is simple to convert from vector graphics to raster graphics, but going the other way is harder. Some software attempts to do this.

In addition to static graphics, there are animation and video editing

Video editing software

Video editing software, is application software which handles the post-production video editing of digital video sequences on a computer non-linear editing systems...

 software.

Most graphics programs have the ability to import and export one or more graphics file formats.

The use of a swatch is a palette of active colours that are selected and rearranged by the preference of the user. A swatch may be used in a program or be part of the universal palette on an operating system, it is used to change the colour of a project, that may be text, image or video editing.
Vector graphics animation can be described as a series of mathematical transformations that are applied in sequence to one or more shapes in a scene. Raster graphics animation works in a similar fashion to film-based animation, where a series of still images produces the illusion of continuous movement.

History

SuperPaint

SuperPaint

SuperPaint was a pioneering graphics program and framebuffer computer system developed by Richard Shoup at Xerox PARC. The system was first conceptualized in late 1972 and produced its first stable image in April 1973...

 (1973) was one of the earliest graphics software applications.

Fauve Matisse (later Macromedia xRes

Macromedia xRes

xRes was an image editing application by Fauve Software, later acquired by Macromedia. It allowed for a real time preview of work. An early version also introduced the concept of layers, a new way of moving and overlapping objects within an image...

) was a pioneering program of the early 1990s, notably introducing layers

Layers (digital image editing)

Layers are used in digital image editing to separate different elements of an image. A layer can be compared to a transparency on which imaging effects or images are applied and placed over or under an image...

 in customer software.

Currently Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop is a graphics editing program developed and published by Adobe Systems Incorporated.Adobe's 2003 "Creative Suite" rebranding led to Adobe Photoshop 8's renaming to Adobe Photoshop CS. Thus, Adobe Photoshop CS5 is the 12th major release of Adobe Photoshop...

 is one of the most used and best-known graphics programs, having displaced more custom hardware solutions in the early 1990s, but was initially subject to various litigation. GIMP

GIMP

GIMP is a free software raster graphics editor. It is primarily employed as an image retouching and editing tool and is freely available in versions tailored for most popular operating systems including Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac OS X, and Linux.In addition to detailed image retouching and...

 is a popular open source alternative to Adobe Photoshop.

Other applications include:

• JPhotoBrush Pro, Java-based multi-platform, freeware.
• Corel Paint Shop Pro
  Corel Paint Shop Pro
  Paint Shop Pro is a raster graphics editor and, later in the series, a vector graphics editor for computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system that was originally published by Minneapolis-based Jasc Software. In October 2004, Corel Corporation purchased Jasc Software and the...
  
  

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See also

• Raster graphics editor
  Raster graphics editor
  A raster graphics editor is a computer program that allows users to paint and edit pictures interactively on the computer screen and save them in one of many popular “bitmap” or “raster” formats such as JPEG, PNG, GIF and TIFF....
  
  
• Comparison of raster graphics editors
  Comparison of raster graphics editors
  - List :- General information :Basic general information about the editors: creator/company, license etc.- Operating system support :The operating systems on which the editors can run natively , meaning which operating systems have which editors specifically coded for them - List :- General...
  
  
• Vector graphics editor
  Vector graphics editor
  A vector graphics editor is a computer program that allows users to compose and edit vector graphics images interactively on a computer and save them in one of many popular vector graphics formats, such as EPS, PDF, WMF, SVG, or VML....
  
  
• List of vector graphics editors
• List of raster graphics editors
• Comparison of vector graphics editors
  Comparison of vector graphics editors
  A number of vector graphics editors for various platforms exist. Potential users of these editors will make a decision based on factors such as the availability for the user's platform, the feature set, usability of the user interface and the focus of the program. Some programs are more suitable...
  
  
• Graphic art software
• Image conversion
  Image conversion
  A massive number of image file formats are available for storing graphical data, and, consequently, there are a number of issues associated with converting from one image format to another, most notably loss of image detail.-Software compatibility:...
  
  
• Photoshop
• Graphics hardware
  Graphics hardware
  Graphics hardware is a hardware that enable to produce and show computer graphics. It works in conjuntion with graphics software. Examples of graphics hardware are display devices, graphics cards and motion capture hardware....