Being a graphic designer tends to require a lot of freelance work. One of the main places that you can both list your services and find graphic designers is Fiverr, where businesses are looking for freelancers to create everything from HTML to designing business cards. If you are planning to interact on Fiverr, it is important to know how things work and the different types of files you will find on there. One such type of file is a vector file. So, what exactly is a vector file?

A Vector file is a file where the creator has designed a graphic with a vector program such as Adobe Illustrator, as opposed to a pixel or raster-based program, such as Photoshop. Vector files are commonly used for graphics that frequently need resizing, or scaling up without losing resolution. These files are most commonly formatted in .EPS, .AI, or .PDF.

While both types of programs have their place, vector files are very versatile and can be scaled up to very large proportions, such as a billboard to very tiny proportions such as business cards. For this reason, many businesses prefer to use designs created in a vector program as they can scale their advertisements up or down as needed. Below, we will explore what you need to know about vector files. Read on to find out more!

What Do I Need to Know About Vector Files?

As you have probably realized by now, if you are designing a logo or an advertisement for a business then using a vector-based program such as Adobe Illustrator is the ideal option for you. Below we will explore some of the main things you should consider and what you should know about using vector files.

How Do I Create Vector Images?

You may have read that vector images are created using a math-based program and felt anxious or overwhelmed. However, there is no need to get stressed as the program itself will take care of the math aspect, leaving it up to you to focus on simply editing the image as you see fit. To convert a vector image in Adobe Illustrator specifically, take the following steps:

1. Pick the image that you want to convert. Try to keep the picture to a single subject.
2. Choose the image trace preset. Adobe Illustrator has several options that you can choose from including high or low fidelity, and different types of art including silhouettes or sketched art. Click the dropdown arrow next to the image trace buttons, make your selection, and click it to begin the tracing process.
3. Edit your image. Once the tracing has finished, you can move on to the fun part where you get to edit the image. There are a lot of options available to you. Some of them include fine tuning your image by selecting “Mode”, ungrouping colors by clicking on “Expand”, and adding layers and removing colors or shapes from the image by using “Direct Selection” or the Pen and Brush Tools.

With these tools you have what you need to create a professional and crisp looking image that is just what your client is looking for.

Their Advantages

Apart from being scalable without losing the quality of the artwork, there are several other great things about vector files including the following:

• The files are much smaller than files from pixel programs. Even if you scale up the artwork, the file remains smaller. This is great for when you are on a time crunch as smaller files take less time to transfer. This also means that your communication between your client will be more efficient and quicker as you can get feedback and back to editing quickly.
• They are easily edited. Whether you need to change colors, the size, the layout, or even the shapes, it is much simpler with vector files. Because vectors are simply just connecting lines to create different shapes, it is actually quite a simple process to manipulate them to create something else. You can even turn them into pixelated files if the need arises.
• They are cleaner looking than raster files, especially when scaled up. Because they are a series of lines, they do not get distorted with significant changes in size. This works incredibly well not just for designing logos or advertisements, but also if you are doing any kind of animated work or if you are designing a website which will be viewed on a variety of different devices.
• They have many uses. In addition to graphics, they can also be used to create are PDFs and XML scripts.

These are all the great things about vector files and why you should consider using them for you work on Fiverr.

Their Disadvantages

While a vector file, such as one created in Adobe Illustrator has many advantages like those listed above, you have to be careful when using them and be careful to pick the right program to edit them in. The reason for this is that vectors can only be edited in vector programs. For example, if you created a vector file in Adobe Illustrator, you would have to do any editing in Adobe Illustrator.

If you transfer them into a raster program, then it will become very difficult to edit them. Additionally, it will pixelate the image making the scalability ineffective.

Conclusion

A vector file in Fiverr is one that uses a mathematically based vector program to create images that can be used in everything from logos to billboards and more. Vector files are a great option because they can be easily edited, sized up and down without compromising the image or making it fuzzy.

To create a vector image, make sure that you are using a program specifically designed for it like Adobe Illustrator, select the image you want to and then get to work editing the sizing colors, and style of art you like. Keep in mind that if you transfer the image to a raster program you will not be able to edit it and the image will become blurry if you size it up, so always use a vector program for any editing.