Graphics are visual elements often used to point readers and viewers to particular information. For example, they are commonly used in textbooks and technical illustrations to make complex subjects more accessible. They can also be used to label photographs and pictures. Animated graphics are especially useful in explaining subject matter that changes over time, such as in an encyclopedia or dictionary entry. They are a key part of multimedia, and can be incorporated into web pages as well as desktop applications.
In computer science, Main Graphics are an area of programming that focuses on the creation and manipulation of images. Graphics are usually created by a programmer using a program called a graphics application programming interface (API). The API defines a set of rules and functions for creating graphical objects such as lines, shapes and colours. These are then displayed on the screen using a device driver, such as a video card.
During the early days of computing, computer graphics were limited to drawing simple shapes and lines on a screen with a pen. The technology quickly advanced with the development of a display that could be attached to a computer, making it possible to create and edit graphics programs. This led to the development of the first GUIs, which made it easier to develop graphics-based software.
Today, most modern computers have a graphics processing unit (GPU) installed on the motherboard. GPUs are dedicated hardware chips designed to perform a range of tasks that include image processing, 3D rendering and computationally intensive calculations such as complex physics simulations. Unlike the general-purpose CPU, which is tasked with everything from turning mouse clicks into retweets to launching Windows Update at the scheduled time, the GPU’s architecture is focused on performing a large number of operations quickly and efficiently.
Many colleges and universities offer courses in the field of graphic design. Some focus on traditional craft skills such as drawing, printmaking and typography. Others are more interdisciplinary, training students to generate novel intellectual responses to a creative brief and produce innovative digital work.
When you select a text layer in the Essential Graphics Panel, and use the command to Rename from the pop-up list, you are changing the name of the graphics object that is stored in your project file. This can be done for any type of graphical object such as shapes, clip layers and colour gradients. The Graphics class is capable of much more graphical rendering functionality than we have discussed here, and you can explore some of this in the tutorials below. However, you should remember that the Graphics object is only available within the paint() callback, and should not be used anywhere else. The alternative to this is the more specialised Rectangle class, which we will discuss in a future tutorial.