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Rasterize?
- Thread starter alekseybc
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. I am definitely not a newbie in photoshop, and would love to know what it means. Thank you and good bye.
merlinman
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It's dificult to come with a short answer to this I'm afraid 
Uhmm I'll give it a go, but I don't know all the details x)
There are two ways of making digital graphic, with "pixels" (also called raster I think) or with vectors.
Pixels is what photoshop works with, something that looks edgy and bad quality when you zoom in or try to scale it up or down. What vectors are are mathematical curves so it can be scaled as much as you want to and you can zoom in infinitely and it'll still not look pixelated. people usually makes logos in Adobe Illustrator since it works with vectors.
Well on the thing with rasterizing. Photoshop can actually also have vectors in it, that's what it does when you make a shape, you can see there's this vector mask on. But you can't do any effects with these types of shapes with such a mask on so when you rasterize it, you simply make it pixels only, no mathematical curves - though this unlocks the layer so you can put on different effects and play around with it!
You can also rasterize layers that has applied blending options to make the blending options a "part" of the layer if you understand?
That's what I've heard, all from personal experience and such, hope it's correct xD
Uhmm I'll give it a go, but I don't know all the details x)There are two ways of making digital graphic, with "pixels" (also called raster I think) or with vectors.
Pixels is what photoshop works with, something that looks edgy and bad quality when you zoom in or try to scale it up or down. What vectors are are mathematical curves so it can be scaled as much as you want to and you can zoom in infinitely and it'll still not look pixelated. people usually makes logos in Adobe Illustrator since it works with vectors.
Well on the thing with rasterizing. Photoshop can actually also have vectors in it, that's what it does when you make a shape, you can see there's this vector mask on. But you can't do any effects with these types of shapes with such a mask on so when you rasterize it, you simply make it pixels only, no mathematical curves - though this unlocks the layer so you can put on different effects and play around with it!
You can also rasterize layers that has applied blending options to make the blending options a "part" of the layer if you understand?
That's what I've heard, all from personal experience and such, hope it's correct xD
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I've seen Rasterize used in alot of situations but the two i have experienced are in text and shapes.
Rasterization to put it as how i see it is converting something from an editable object to a standard layer.
that's how i see it, so like Text is rasterized into a layer that is no longer editable (so you can't change what the text says anymore)
with shapes, it works the same, it applies the mask to the fill and turns it into a standard layer.
someone will no doubt explain in further detail i'm crud when it comes to explaining.
Rasterization to put it as how i see it is converting something from an editable object to a standard layer.
that's how i see it, so like Text is rasterized into a layer that is no longer editable (so you can't change what the text says anymore)
with shapes, it works the same, it applies the mask to the fill and turns it into a standard layer.
someone will no doubt explain in further detail i'm crud when it comes to explaining.
ibclare
Queen Bee
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The merlinman hit on the most technical explanation.
Here's something you can read: http://www.illustratortips.com/index.php/Instruction/Beginner-Tips/vector-vs-raster.html
But as Zee mentions, we often use the term a little more loosely and I like the way she put it; converting something from an editable layer. Of course with a mask, it is just applying a mask, but there is the concept. When you have layer effects and you want to make the layer effects into a part of the image so that you can, for instance, erase part of the effect, you make an empty layer below and merge the 2. This came up with the joker thread and I suggested "rasterizing" the joker and his outer glow in order to mask off and "erase" some of the glow. Or as merlin mentioned, doing the same thing with blending effects.
http://www.photoshopgurus.com/forum...ow-my-picture-[need-help].html#post1533601574
Once you do that, of course as Zee said, that layer effect is no longer editable. If you have any question, duplicate your layer first and move it out of the way. And of course, this is not rasterizing at all, since that implies taking a vector image and turning it into a pixel image.
So my apologies if I am muddying the waters by using the term so loosely. If somebody wants to offer a more technically correct term, please do and thank you! :mrgreen:
Here's something you can read: http://www.illustratortips.com/index.php/Instruction/Beginner-Tips/vector-vs-raster.html
But as Zee mentions, we often use the term a little more loosely and I like the way she put it; converting something from an editable layer. Of course with a mask, it is just applying a mask, but there is the concept. When you have layer effects and you want to make the layer effects into a part of the image so that you can, for instance, erase part of the effect, you make an empty layer below and merge the 2. This came up with the joker thread and I suggested "rasterizing" the joker and his outer glow in order to mask off and "erase" some of the glow. Or as merlin mentioned, doing the same thing with blending effects.
http://www.photoshopgurus.com/forum...ow-my-picture-[need-help].html#post1533601574
Once you do that, of course as Zee said, that layer effect is no longer editable. If you have any question, duplicate your layer first and move it out of the way. And of course, this is not rasterizing at all, since that implies taking a vector image and turning it into a pixel image.
So my apologies if I am muddying the waters by using the term so loosely. If somebody wants to offer a more technically correct term, please do and thank you! :mrgreen:
dv8_fx
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Merlinman and Zeealex got it right . To add more info....
It means PS renders (rasterize) or converts the artwork from a collection of objects to a bitmapped image.
PhotoShop is pixel based. When you use the Text tool , the text created is a pseudo vector. In order for it to take on more manipulations, it has to be converted to bitmap (pixel) form. Thus you rasterize the objects in pseudo vector in the layer. This is how you get the smoothness of an object in PS rather than the jagged sometimes coarse form of a vector.
edit....
Thus when you open/import an illustrator artwork, Photoshop has to convert the image data.... and presents the Rasterize Generic EPS Format dialog box in order for you to select what resolution to render the Ai data to pixel format. Usually , I'd choose higher resolution (not size ratio) (2x or 3x the AI images default value) to ensure the object renders smoothly.
Conversely, when I export a Corel vector drawing to Photoshop, I set it at 150 or 300ppi and maintain the corel artwork's original size ratio to get a smooth image when opened in PS.
It means PS renders (rasterize) or converts the artwork from a collection of objects to a bitmapped image.
PhotoShop is pixel based. When you use the Text tool , the text created is a pseudo vector. In order for it to take on more manipulations, it has to be converted to bitmap (pixel) form. Thus you rasterize the objects in pseudo vector in the layer. This is how you get the smoothness of an object in PS rather than the jagged sometimes coarse form of a vector.
edit....
Thus when you open/import an illustrator artwork, Photoshop has to convert the image data.... and presents the Rasterize Generic EPS Format dialog box in order for you to select what resolution to render the Ai data to pixel format. Usually , I'd choose higher resolution (not size ratio) (2x or 3x the AI images default value) to ensure the object renders smoothly.
Conversely, when I export a Corel vector drawing to Photoshop, I set it at 150 or 300ppi and maintain the corel artwork's original size ratio to get a smooth image when opened in PS.
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dv8_fx
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Z.....
The mask shape layers are in fact a pseudo vector. Which is why it has to be rasterized in order that you can do further final edits on it .
Why use a vector to represent the shape? Try using the shape selection tools to create a fill in shape on a layer. Then perform edit transforms on it..... big , small. stretch - committing the transform change as you go along. You'll notice that the more edit you do to it, the image quality changes becoming pixelated or blurry,
This won't happen to a shape layer mask coz it's VECTOR... pseudo vector , actually....
The mask shape layers are in fact a pseudo vector. Which is why it has to be rasterized in order that you can do further final edits on it .
Why use a vector to represent the shape? Try using the shape selection tools to create a fill in shape on a layer. Then perform edit transforms on it..... big , small. stretch - committing the transform change as you go along. You'll notice that the more edit you do to it, the image quality changes becoming pixelated or blurry,
This won't happen to a shape layer mask coz it's VECTOR... pseudo vector , actually....
. Thanks you guys you really helped a lot. This is probably the best forum I have ever been on 
.