Should you use Vector or Raster Illustration for your next project?

As an illustrator starting out, I remember everyone else worked in either a vector or raster format - but which should you use? Purists will tell you that every illustration use case has one correct format or style, but nowadays it's not that straight forward. If you're planning on commissioning an illustrator, you might be wondering which illustration style you should be looking for - but don't worry, you're not as limited as you think.

Chicken Illustration by Ellie Barrett, Created using Raster Illustration Techniques

The Benefits of Raster Illustration

Raster illustration, also known as bitmap illustration, is created using pixels. This format is great for creating detailed and realistic images, especially when it comes to things like textures and shading. With raster illustration, you can achieve a level of detail that's difficult for novices to achieve with vector illustration.

The Benefits of Vector Illustration

Vector illustration, on the other hand, is created using paths and shapes. This format is great for creating clean and precise images, especially when it comes to things like logos and typography. With vector illustration, you can easily scale your images without losing any quality, making it a great choice for print and web graphics.

Until recently websites and social media would take a very long time to load raster images with a lot of pixels - after all our photos were taken on cute little 23 megapixel cameras that we carried around in our bags in case of a good time. So illustrations needed to be vector if they were going to scaled up and down without looking super blurry or causing load issues. Nowadays, we have a lot more wiggle room, and can load and scale raster images in our browsers, with images that used to take minutes to load appearing in milliseconds.

The Drawbacks of Vector and Raster Illustration Styles

Every image you see, occupies real space on real computer memory. Even though we no longer need to carry around a memory stick of our work, and store our illustrations in "the cloud" - they still take up space. That means that image size contributes to how much energy is used to store your images. The drawback to be aware of when making choices like raster illustration versus vector illustration - is that the larger your image file size, the more you must pay to store your illustration and the greater the environmental impact your images have over their life time. "The Cloud" is actually a bunch of massive data centres around the world that require a lot of water and energy to run. So if you're making huge illustrations for print for example, consider whether you can use newer formats like webp to keep your image sizes down.

The Benefits of Combining Vector and Raster Illustration Styles

Today, it's much more about ease and choice - you can convert a reasonably simple raster image into vector illustration in Adobe Illustrator, and you can export raster versions of vector illustrations in seconds. Procreate is a powerful app that's great for creating detailed and realistic images, while Adobe Illustrator is perfect for creating clean and precise vector graphics.If you're planning to animate in Adobe After Effects, you'll want to be learning and using vector illustration - but if you love the intuitive paper-like feel of Procreate, then start your projects there.

Foxes with Boxes Illustrated by Ellie Barrett, Created using Vector Illustration and converted to Raster Illustration for print

By combining the two illustration styles, you can get the best of both worlds. For example, you can create a detailed and realistic image in a raster format, and then use vector illustration to add clean and precise typography and logos. Or, you can start with a vector format and then add texture and shading in a raster format.

Combining vector and raster illustration styles can lead to some amazing results. By using both formats, you can achieve a level of detail and precision that's difficult to achieve with just one style. So, next time you're creating an illustration, consider using both vector and raster formats to take your work to the next level. If you're still unsure, or you're looking for support with your next creative project, get in touch.