The CorelDRAW Guide to Vector Design

Let's dive in head-first with a full understanding of vector art as a medium, starting with a clear explanation of what it is, how it works, and where it is often used. While most designers will routinely encounter vector graphics, there are some jobs or roles where vectors are the medium of choice. Read more about vector art to get familiar with this asset.

Journey further into the world of vector graphics by exploring the history of how art and mathematics came together to solve a fundamental design problem. The origin of vector graphics dates back further than you might realize, yet it's more relevant today than ever. Trace the history of vector graphics through the evolution of technology to become a prominent element in modern design.

Vector art is a common fixture in everyday entertainment media. Digital tools and vector file formats help bridge the gap between art and digital media technology, bringing collaboration and efficiency to the creation process. You can find vector art across pop culture, from comics and graphic novels to gif animations and covert art. This article gives a glimpse into the widespread use of vector art in pop culture.

Vector art plays a significant role in branding and marketing products and services. The seamless scalability of these files makes it easy for businesses to put their message almost anywhere, including building signage, business cards, and social media. Take a look at the different businesses and industries that put vector art to use, giving you an idea of where your design career can take you.

Vector graphics are compatible with many different output formats. These images can be printed on large format printers for traditional billboards and building signage. Or they can be fed through digital embroidery tools and sewn onto apparel. The unique thing about vector graphics is that they're equally suited for digital and physical products, making it easy to use technology during the design process. Here, we'll look at a few examples to provide some inspiration for your creative projects.

As a designer, working with vectors will require a design program. While these images can sometimes be manipulated in a simple text editor, only the tools in a functional vector software program will provide the creative support you need to design. Unfortunately, not all vector software is equal. Let's examine some of the most popular vector software options and learn what makes each unique.

From choosing your path to honing your craft, there are limitless possibilities to build a career in the world of design. This article takes a behind-the-scenes look at how other successful designers have navigated the journey. As you take your next steps, find a little inspiration to get the ball rolling.

The journey of a vector illustrator isn't as linear as you might imagine. Some artists begin with traditional paper mediums and transition to vector illustration while others embrace the digital medium from the get-go. Either way, creative skills and natural talent transfer easily. This article explores the tools that artists need to transition to a digital medium with vector illustration.

Creating vector art can be a profitable career path that doesn't have to look like a traditional 9-5. While Vector artists can land full-time employment gigs with full benefits at large media and marketing companies, just as many prefer the freedom of a freelance artistic career. Here, we discuss how artists make money from vector image assets ranging from side hustles to celebrity-status careers.

Now that you have a good understanding of what vector graphics are, you're probably already thinking about what you can do with vector software like CorelDRAW. Luckily, creative inspiration is all around us so all you need to do is give it a try. This post will give you a few pointers so that you can jump right in and get started designing with vectors.

Vector graphics are stored as a data file that contains a series of points and corresponding mathematical equations. Together, these data sets identify the lines and shapes that form the image. As the values are changed, the equations force all values to remain in proportion, thus creating perfect scalability that yields a crisp, clear image without distortion. In this article about how vector graphics work, we dive deeper into those details.

It's easy to focus on all the positives that vector graphics bring to the table. There are times when a vector graphic is the best choice, and there are times when it might be better to consider using an alternative. Experienced designers understand the importance of choosing the right format for the job. This piece lays out the pros and cons to give you a solid background for making this decision in your own projects.

Across the board, digital images are categorically either raster or vector images—the key difference between the two lies in how the image's data is stored. Raster images are common and, in some cases, may even be necessary. Look at how the two compare from a functional design perspective and understand when and how to use each.

Vector tracing, also known as vectorizing, is a software feature that turns raster images into vectors. It’s one of the primary methods designers use to transform paper and pencil drawings or photographs into vectors. Vector tracing features are part of most design programs, including CorelDRAW. Here, we'll break down the process of vectorizing an image.

Scalable vector graphics, or SVGs, are a universal vector format adopted by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3). In many ways, the SVG file format helped create a better web experience for users by enabling well-designed, visual websites to load faster across multiple devices. As a designer, mastering the SVG file format is essential to creating designs that work well on any screen. Read more about the SVG files in this piece.

While an SVG might be the official open standard, they aren't the only vector file type in use today. Big influencers in the graphic design world like Adobe and CorelDRAW each maintain a proprietary file type for use with their software. And most printing presses still rely on older file formats, so you'll need some experience with all the major vector file types to round out your design skills. Let's look at the most common types and where you'll find them.

As we previously learned, one main difference between vector art and other formats is that vector designs are stored in files as simple elements plotted on a cartesian plane. Three simple elements—points, lines, and shapes—are the fundamental building blocks of vector graphics. Read this article for an explanation of how vector lines work and how to make and edit lines in your projects.

In addition to lines, vector shapes are a fundamental building block of vector art. Graphic designers combine many shapes to create more detailed vector designs. This piece explains how vector shapes work, as well as which tools you can use to easily create shapes within graphic design software. Explore this guide on creating and modifying shapes in your vector designs.

Art forms may be built on lines and shapes, but works of art would be nothing without color. Proper use of color does more than just look good—color breathes life into art and creates the mood and vibe of an image. Colors evoke emotions and help communicate meaning. Read this chapter for tips on using color in your art and details about working with colors in common graphic design software.

Once you understand the power of color in art, you’ll be able to take your designs to the next level—but color is just the beginning. Designers aren’t limited to flat colors in their art. Shape fill options like gradients and meshes can give your shapes a much greater sense of depth and realism. This article looks at some of the more advanced techniques and tools for applying color and texture to your digital art.

Many people associate vector design with basic illustrations, abstract art, and simple icons, but you can create stunning, intricate works of art using vector software. This chapter will tell you how to use layers, shapes, and other artistic elements to create natural-looking vector drawings and paintings. Read on to learn more about creating beautiful vector-based drawings and paintings.

Whether you’re designing vector-based illustrations or raster images, you’ll likely use graphic design software with a layer feature. Layers allow you to place graphic elements on different levels within a single design file. In this article, we outline how layers can be used, and we discuss the many benefits of using layers as you design. Read on to find out why layers are so important when making digital art.

Along with learning about layers, mastering object scaling and other image modifications will give you more control over fine-tuning your designs. Read this article to learn about the image manipulation tools you’ll find in most design software programs, including resizing, cropping, rotating, skewing, and warping tools.

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but sometimes, you’ll need to include text on your designs. Text is especially important when creating marketing, branding, or other business-related designs. This article looks at the fundamentals of typography, including information on typefaces, font spacing, kerning, and colors. Read the full article for helpful tips on creating and editing text within your designs.

In today’s technological landscape, designers have many tools to make their lives easier. From stock images and design presets to plugins and shortcuts, there are many ways to streamline your design processes. Styles and style sets are another great example of this. Check out this article to learn how styles and style sets enable designers to easily save object attributes to apply visual styles throughout various different designs.