Graphic Terms ; Definitions

Animated gif – it is an image file format which is suitable for images with relatively few colours such as brand logos and charts. The format is used for simple image animation effects(example above)

JPEG – a file format generally used for image compressions.

Pixel – The smallest discrete component of an image or picture on a CRT screen.

BMP – an image file format used to store bitmap digital images.

Flip – flipping images so they are facing the opposite way.

Video card – a hardware you install onto your computer to allow it to send video signals to an external output device such as a monitor and projector.

Crop – to cut out a certain an area from a picture.

Mirror – An image that has its parts arranged with a reversal of right and left, as it would appear if seen in a mirror.

FPS(frames per second) – how fast the frames change per second.

Frame – each slide in the animation that creates the movement.

Morph – to change shape of the computer animation.

CPU – A central processing unit. The part of the computer that does the majority of the data processing.

DPI – revolution that varies across media. Image files are optimized as dots per inch.

Resolution – The number of pixels per square inch on a computer-generated display. The higher the resolution the better the picture.(example on the left)

File extension - A short series of letters and/or numerals at the end of a personal computer filename, used to indicate the type of file and the software that will be required to operate or open it.

Compression - An algorithm or scheme used to compress or shrink a file. A file in compressed form must first be uncompressed or transformed before it can be read, displayed, or used. Files available through anonymous FTP are often stored in compressed form and must be treated as binary files.

Frame buffer - a buffer that stores the contents of an image pixel by anpixel.

Colour Depth - Color depth or bit depth, is a computer graphics term describing the number of bits used to represent the color of a single pixel in a bitmapped image or video frame buffer. This concept is also known as bits per pixel (bpp), particularly when specified along with the number of bits used (example below)