Why I Vector My Work | Why Procreate Isn’t My Final Choice for Finished Art
Why I Vector My Work | Why Procreate Isn’t My Final Choice for Finished Art
One of the popular questions I get asked often is why I vector my work. And, I thought why not just do a talk through video explaining why Procreate (or other raster based programs) isn’t my final choice for my finished artwork!
Watch My Speed Drawing and Listen to Me Discuss!
Vector vs Raster
Both have their place.
Raster is made up of tiny pixels. When you zoom in you can see them. The edges aren’t crisp – they are tiny little dots. With Raster based programs you’re best with working on photographs and paintings. However, with raster you cannot scale up without loss of quality from your original. There are some exceptions when you start with a super high DPI but even then it’s going to be limited. Raster programs include Procreate, Photoshop, Paint.
Vector is mathematical calculations of lines to create shapes. It’s fully scalable without loss of quality.
Why I Vector
- Scalability
- Easily change colors
- It looks cleaner and I have better control over lines for my style of art
- My vendors want vector files
Here’s My Biggest Explanation
If I didn’t use Procreate and I had a paper with pencil to sketch out my art first, I would then have to scan it in on a scanner. Then, clean it up a bit in Photoshop. Then, vector it in Adobe Illustrator.
For my style of art and what I do I have taken out a few steps by sketching directly on my iPad Pro. No scanning. No clean up work in Photoshop. It’s Procreate and straight to vector.
The iPad Pro has saved me steps. Before I bought my iPad Pro I would draw directly in Illustrator with my Cintiq. But it’s big and cumbersome and takes up a lot of space on my desk. With the iPad Pro I can draw anywhere. I can take it with me. I can do it on the couch or in bed. It has made life so easy.
But in the end, I always vector my final artwork for output to print including stickers, t-shirts, and enamel pins. Companies I work for want vector artwork turned into them as well. My style of art makes it easy to produce and I love having more control over my final work.
Watch My Drawing Process!
A few weeks ago I did a three part series explaining how I vector in Illustrator.
That was helpful, thank you.