Vocabulary
 

Alpha - as in Alpha Channel: Data that is added to a bitmapped image to describe transparency. See channel.

Animation - A set of images drawn one after the other to give the illusion of movement. It is analogous to the way an artist can draw a slightly different figure on each page of a pad of paper so that when you flip between sheets rapidly, the drawing appears to move.

Anti-Aliasing - A process by which the edges of objects in a bitmapped image are smoothened to remove the jagged, "stair-case" appearance, known as aliasing. See Printing Images for more information.

Bitmap - A computer image generated by arranging pixels in a rectangular matrix, i.e. in rows and columns. Bitmaps are typical of paint programs, which treat images as collections of dots rather than as shapes. Within a computer’s memory, a bitmap is represented as a group of numbers that describe the characteristics of the individual pixels that make up the image. also Bitmapped Image.

Black-Point - The darkest color that appears (or can appear) in an image.

Blend - Mix, based on some pre-defined ratio.

Blit - short for "Bit-Block Transfer": The process graphics programmers use to transfer blocks of bitmapped image data from one location in memory to another so as to achieve image transfer.

Blue-Screening - Technique of combining images where the background of one image is removed and replaced with another image.

Channel - as in Color Channels: One of the components used to describe the color of a point, or part of a bitmapped image consisting of that color component only. For example, an image consisting of the red parts of all the pixels in an RGB image is the red channel for that image; likewise for the green and blue; if combined, these three reproduce the original image.

CMYK - A color-space that represents color using the four components Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black in different proportions. CMYK is the color-space used by most color printers, in which context it is commonly referred to as the four-color process.

Color-Space - A model for describing color in terms of components referred to as color channels. See Printing Images for more information. also Color Model.

Composite - Chasys Draw IES specific: An image that consists of several different images, blended and displayed together in a manner analogous to making a collage (a picture made by sticking pieces of paper, photographs, etc onto a surface).

Cosmetics - as in Text Cosmetics, Chasys Draw IES specific: A method of improving the appearance of text at low resolutions, superior to anti-aliasing in results. See Printing Images for more information.

dSLR - short for in digital Single Lens Reflex: Single-lens-reflex (SLR) camera that uses a digital sensor instead of film. See SLR.

Grey-Point - The average color of the entire image or the value used as a mid-point in intensity for an image.

GUI - short for Graphical User Interface: The visible part, or "window", through which the user interacts with a program.

Gloss Media - Chasys Draw IES specific: Material that is printed on glossy paper at a very high resolution, usually in excess of 1200 dpi. Gloss media shows more visual detail than ordinary paper.

Harmony - as in Color Harmony: Pleasantness and uniformity in the flow and interaction of the different colors in an image. Generally, the more color harmony an image has the more natural it looks.

Histogram - as in Color Histogram or Image Histogram: A representation of the distribution of colors in an image, derived by counting the number of pixels with of each of given set of color ranges for each channel in the image.

HLS - A color-space that represents color using the three components Hue, Luminosity and Saturation in different proportions. HLS is widely used by artists for general color description and composition.

Heuristics - A method of solving a problem for which no formula exists, based on informal methods or experience, and employing a form of trial and error iteration.

Hugemap - Chasys Draw IES specific: Very large bitmap, usually larger than 4096 by 4096 (16.7 mega-pixels).

ICM - short for Image Color Matching: A technology for ensuring that the colors of an image produced by one device remain unchanged when the image is reproduced on another device. See Printing Images for more information. also Image Color Management.

Image Mode - Chasys Draw IES specific: Method used for handling and displaying a multi-layer image, e.g. composite, animation, and image list / mipmap.

Image Stacking - Process of arranging and combining different but same-size images of the same scene so as to create a single better image, usually at a higher resolution or with lower noise. also Shift-and-Add.

Layer - Layers can be thought of as transparent sheets of plastic with images drawn on them, that can be stacked on top of each other, so that you can see the lower sheets through the transparent parts of the upper sheets. See Introduction to Layers for more information.

Mega-Pixel - Unit of measure defined as one million (1,000,000) pixels. Used as a measure of image resolution. also MPix.

Metadata - Data about data: descriptive information about the elements of a set of data. Chasys Draw IES specific: Extra non-image data attached to a layer; usually used to describing the used fonts, paths etc., which can be retrieved and reused later.

Mipmap - See Multi-resolution.

Multi-resolution - Having or containing multiple representations of the same image, albeit at different resolutions. Also called mipmaps.

Path - Series of points joined by either lines or curves, used to define regions.

Pixel - Contraction of the phrase "picture element"; an individual tiny dot of color that is the basic unit from which digital images are made. One million (1,000,000) pixels make up a mega-pixel.

Pixel Art - Graphics done with relatively few pixels, such as bitmaps intended to be used for tiling.

Raster Graphics - A method of generating images using bitmaps. Images are stored as collections of small, independently controlled dots (pixels) arranged in rows and columns. Opposite of vector graphics.

Resolution - The level of detail reproducible by a bitmapped image, related to the number of pixels (dots) used to create the image: the more pixels, the greater the resolution. Usually expressed in of pixels, mega-pixels or as a pixel count in the form N x M.

RGB - A color-space that represents color using the three components Red, Green and Blue in different proportions. RGB is the color-space used by TVs, monitors, cameras, scanners and projectors.

SLR - short for Single Lens Reflex: A single-lens-reflex (SLR) camera uses a single lens for both viewing the scene and taking the picture. Light comes through the lens onto a mirror, which then reflects it through a five-sided prism into the viewfinder. When taking a snap, a spring automatically pulls the mirror out of the path between lens and film.

Sprite - A bitmapped image, usually with transparent parts, that can be moved over a scene during animation to give the impression of a moving object. Chasys Draw IES specific: Any bitmap that has some transparent or translucent parts.

sRGB - short for Standardized RGB: A color-space, derived from RGB, that is used as an international standard for color measurement, management and representation. sRGB has been approved as a formal international standard by the International Electro-technical Commission as IEC 61966-2-1 / Default RGB Color Space.

Stacking - see image stacking

Super-resolution (SR) - Process of using one or more low resolution images to create an enhanced, higher resolution image; either through heuristics or by image stacking. There are both single-frame and multiple-frame variants of SR, where multiple-frame are the most useful.

Tiling - The process of joining a single, small graphic with copies of itself to generate a large, continuous graphic. Usually, the edges of the graphic will be designed such that they overlap smoothly.

Vector Graphics - A method of generating images using mathematical descriptions of the position, length, and direction of lines. Objects are created as collections of lines and shapes. Opposite of raster graphics.

White-Point - The brightest color that appears (or can appear) in the image.

X-coordinate - Position in the horizontal direction. Usually counted left to right.

Y-coordinate - Position in the vertical direction. Usually counted bottom to top by mathematicians, but mostly top to bottom in computer graphics for efficient processing.

Z-Order - The  state of something being in front of the other or the relationship thereof; something is said to be at the bottom of the z-order if it is behind all other objects, and at the top if its is in front of them.