Types of Drawing Software

There are three basic kinds of drawing software: bitmap, vector and computer-aided design (CAD). Each is designed to fulfill a different set of requirements. Although vector drawing software can be used for many of the same functions as bitmap, including comic art and general drawing, the different types of software excel over the others in their specialist areas.

Bitmap drawing software is the kind of art package most computer users are familiar with, thanks to Microsoft Paint being packaged with Windows. Bitmap software handles images as a grid ("map") of pixels ("bits"). The user draws an image by changing the color of bits in the map. Bitmap drawing software is suited to photo manipulation and general drawing, but it cannot change the size of an image without losing quality.

Vector drawing software handles shapes and lines as mathematical formulae rather than fixed points on the page. This creates smoother curves in images and allows the image size to be scaled up or down without losing resolution. As a result, vector drawing software is best suited to graphic design, although the smoothness and regularity of the images can look stark.

CAD software is designed for the production of plans, technical drawings and other similar designs. It is commonly used to produce object, building and vehicle designs, both for real world use and in computer modeling, and is wholly unsuited to general drawing or sketching tasks.