

If you love pixels more than life and start from a place of raster in your heart, try dabbling in the dark arts of vector and see what’s possible.

It’s ideal for me as an artist to have tool options based on the work I’m creating. I never gave up my love for vector but came to embrace both the point and the pixel. It took me about ten years to embrace the power of pixels and a brush over the exact nature of vector shapes and lines. Sometimes I think we may be the only ones that use vector tools in raster software. Vector artists discover and use the vector capabilities in a pixel-based programs like Photoshop and use them with ease. Bezier handles and curves came natural to me while layer masks and effects took a little more effort. Early in my design career, I started off loving creating vector art and used programs Photoshop for minor touch up and editing. Whenever I interview designers for possible employment, I always ask the fateful question, “Photoshop or Illustrator?” There are people who are ambidextrous when it comes to vector and raster graphics, but everyone, including myself starts from a place of comfort. Most artists use paint and photo imaging software without ever touching its vector capabilities.

So why are vectors so important in a painting program. Are vectors the peanut butter in my rastered chocolate? Funding from the community accelerated the production schedule, making Krita a true contender among commercial software that’s considered the industry standard. The funding made it possible to guarantee development time by paying their developers for their commitment. The last two have fundraising efforts from Krita were very successful and brought many advancements to the software. This is the third Kickstarter for the Krita team. This week is the last week for the Kickstarter, so if these tools/features are something that you’ve been waiting for, consider contributing a few dollars to make this development a reality. “We’ve really wanted to go an improve text and vector support in Krita for a really long time, and now’s the time,” says lead developer Boudewijn Rempt. Krita is also evolving their text tool so that it’s easier and more intuitive for users. The new fundraiser this month focuses on importing and creating vector art, making SVG their standard vector file type. I’m a little late to the party with Krita’s new Kickstarter but that doesn’t mean that I’m not wildly excited about their new endeavor for 2016.
