“Vector artisans” is how I usually talk about my profession on social media, and while this does not make up the entire portfolio of services I offer my clients, it is present in all of them.
For me, an artisan is someone who performs a craft with care, passion, and mastery, who has a deep understanding of the material they work with, so they can get the most out of it and transform it into a beautiful, useful, and unique object or product.
My raw material is vectors; vectors that I use to create every illustration, every graphic, every icon, every logo and every illustration that I develop, whether for myself or for my clients.
Many people probably disagree that the digital world can accommodate artisanal work. I didn't think so either, until I became aware of the similarities between how I work with vectors and how I used to pass wool fibers through the cotton warp to weave on looms more than twenty years ago.
There was a point where the world faded away around me; only the warp, the wool, and I remained, dancing together in a hypnotic pattern where, with each step, I found coincidences and created logical sequences that gave shape to the piece emerging on the loom. Over time, and under the guidance of my teacher Ixchel Suárez, I began to familiarize myself with these and other sequences, which I later applied differently to new pieces. Just as I do now with vectors.
If you're wondering what vectors are, I'll talk about them in another article I'm developing. In the meantime, you can check out two others that are already finished and can give you an idea about them: Technical Illustration, The Ugly Duckling of Art and Vectors VS Pixels.
Another metaphor that I find very apt for discussing vector work as a craft is woodworking. A carpenter or cabinetmaker knows that not all woods are the same, that the grain direction, density, hardness, moisture content, etc., are important for working with it and unlocking its full potential.
The same applies to vectors. The simplicity, neatness, order, and mathematical properties of each vector determine the quality and usefulness of the resulting images for different applications.
For example. Two circles, seemingly identical, each 100 x 100 pixels. However, the second one is made up of a set of disordered vectors, with too many anchor points and no axes of symmetry anywhere.
This might seem irrelevant, but both circles are the result of mathematical expressions. If we use XML for SVG images, the first one is:
While the second one is:
Therefore, careless handling of vectors when creating an illustration (like the following) will surely affect the number of operations that a browser must perform to view them or software to process them (or did you think Illustrator crashes for no reason?).
Imagine the amount of vectors and unnecessary information that can be generated when creating an illustration like the following if the necessary care is not taken.
I actually did a test to verify this. Here are two images of the same isometric Jeep. The first was created 20 years ago using Adobe Illustrator's 3D filter, which generated an overwhelming number of vectors. The second was created 20 years later, systematically applying basic Illustrator tools. Do you notice the difference?
Filters can be very tempting as they offer an "easy" way to quickly resolve a vector illustration. However, in a professional setting, the result won't achieve the superior quality that can only be attained through manual vector manipulation. An experienced artist can produce results so quickly that filters aren't necessary, yielding excellent, clean graphics with no unnecessary vectors and a file size suitable for application, storage, and distribution.
Another example of the importance of careful vector handling is when using the blending tool. Let's take our two circles above as an example. What would happen if we wanted to transform them into an eight-pointed star?
Do you see what I mean? This would also apply to animated transitions like "morphing," which, in fact, require proper vector handling for their programming to work.
Finally, the dreaded AI. For the moment, it doesn't worry me. Just like the previous pair of Jeeps, the difference between meticulousness and craftsmanship is remarkable.
As the saying goes: “The importance is in the details.”
And you, tell me, how carefully do you usually work with your vectors? Do you think the way you work with them is important?
Thank you for reading and sharing.
Fran GyG
