2D computer graphics

2D computer graphics is the <a href="/facts/Computer-generated_imagery/ThJ2gh1X">computer-based</a> generation of <a href="/facts/Digital_image/3TNT47Mv">digital images</a>—mostly from two-dimensional models (such as <a href="/facts/2D_geometric_model/Azdx2M1y">2D geometric models</a>, text, and digital images) and by techniques specific to them. It may refer to the branch of <a href="/facts/Computer_science/lN3pEyPz">computer science</a> that comprises such techniques or to the models themselves.

2D computer graphics are mainly used in applications that were originally developed upon traditional <a href="/facts/Printing/ta4QpeDE">printing</a> and <a href="/facts/Drawing/DA7GfHNW">drawing</a> technologies, such as <a href="/facts/Typography/byx4sANl">typography</a>, <a href="/facts/Cartography/8YdDAAeX">cartography</a>, <a href="/facts/Technical_drawing/WtTmaUwL">technical drawing</a>, <a href="/facts/Advertising/Hgz271hW">advertising</a>, etc. In those applications, the two-dimensional <a href="/facts/Image/hbjEdTXK">image</a> is not just a representation of a real-world object, but an independent artifact with added semantic value; two-dimensional models are therefore preferred, because they give more direct control of the image than <a href="/facts/3D_computer_graphics/zlWW6eaF">3D computer graphics</a> (whose approach is more akin to <a href="/facts/Photography/ezLPT43M">photography</a> than to typography).
In many domains, such as <a href="/facts/Desktop_publishing/gUPtzSnH">desktop publishing</a>, <a href="/facts/Engineering/RFVg8H3I">engineering</a>, and <a href="/facts/Business/For1e8Nh">business</a>, a description of a document based on 2D computer graphics techniques can be much smaller than the corresponding digital image—often by a factor of 1/1000 or more. This representation is also more flexible since it can be <a href="/facts/Rendering_(computer_graphics)/YYxfnmAq">rendered</a> at different <a href="/facts/Image_resolution/NAL4uFV9">resolutions</a> to suit different <a href="/facts/Output_device/zQt81QMq">output devices</a>. For these reasons, documents and illustrations are often stored or transmitted as <a href="/facts/Graphics_file_format/tLGQogv3">2D graphic files</a>.
2D computer graphics started in the 1950s, based on <a href="/facts/Vector_graphics/y8ok7M2P">vector graphics devices</a>. These were largely supplanted by <a href="/facts/Raster_graphics/HkXNc8oI">raster-based devices</a> in the following decades. The <a href="/facts/PostScript/h2XwbcmC">PostScript</a> language and the <a href="/facts/X_Window_System/ac2vRIQL">X Window System</a> protocol were landmark developments in the field.
2D graphics models may combine <a href="/facts/2D_geometric_model/Azdx2M1y">geometric models</a> (also called <a href="/facts/Vector_graphics/y8ok7M2P">vector graphics</a>), digital images (also called <a href="/facts/Raster_graphics/HkXNc8oI">raster graphics</a>), text to be <a href="/facts/Typesetting/CsKmfY0t">typeset</a> (defined by content, <a href="/facts/Typeface/It41hIjl">font</a> style and size, color, position, and orientation), mathematical <a href="/facts/Function_(mathematics)/CdReEKCh">functions</a> and <a href="/facts/Equation/pxFzLAVR">equations</a>, and more. These components can be modified and manipulated by two-dimensional <a href="/facts/Transformation_(geometry)/qRjrasJf">geometric transformations</a> such as <a href="/facts/Translation_(geometry)/KlpWmnfX">translation</a>, <a href="/facts/Rotation/yChkz49x">rotation</a>, and <a href="/facts/Scaling_(geometry)/pFm6fvpu">scaling</a>.
In <a href="/facts/Object-oriented_graphics/y8ok7M2P">object-oriented graphics</a>, the image is described indirectly by an <a href="/facts/Object_(computer_science)/eX99dtAw">object</a> endowed with a self-<a href="/facts/Rendering_(computer_graphics)/YYxfnmAq">rendering</a> <a href="/facts/Method_(computer_science)/8kAXxVYs">method</a>—a procedure that assigns colors to the image <a href="/facts/Pixel/UzwBvXBV">pixels</a> by an arbitrary algorithm. Complex models can be built by combining simpler objects, in the <a href="/facts/Paradigms/HXpK3X7a">paradigms</a> of <a href="/facts/Object-oriented_programming/TxNMEcao">object-oriented programming</a>.

2D computer graphics open-in-new

2D computer graphics