Vector graphics with pixels

[Bartek]

Hello everybody!

I recently started using Pixelmator Pro and I'm so happy to use it but I have a "little" problem. Why my shapes and lines done with brushes are pixels, not vector? Am I doing something wrong? I saw so many beautiful images done in Pixelmator Pro and they were vector graphic.

[Aurelija]

Hey, Bartek! Brushes in Pixelmator Pro are pixel-based and geared more toward creating traditional art. You'd need vector-based tools to draw vector designs. These include Pen and Freeform Pen tools for drawing custom shapes, and the Shape tool that lets you insert pre-made shapes. We also have a tutorial on creating vector illustrations you can check out here: https://www.pixelmator.com/tutorials/re ... ustration/

[Bartek]

I have these tools in my toolbar in Pixelmator Pro and yes, I saw this tutorial. Still, I don't get how they draw vector graphic in Pixelmator Pro when I can't do it because all shapes, tools (including pen) draws pixels.

[Andrius]

To be clear, Pixelmator Pro is still a primarily (though not exclusively) raster-based app so the final result displayed in the app will be rendered using a fixed pixel size. That's why, when zooming in, you'll start to see individual pixels become visible.

If you'd like to avoid that as much as possible, one workaround would be to use larger image sizes, that way you'll be able to zoom quite far before seeing pixels.

Having said that, even though the image is rendered using pixels, your vector graphics can still be resized freely and upscaled while retaining all their quality as the underlying shape data is vector-based. Plus, if you export images with vector layers only in SVG format, those SVGs will be full-fledged vector images. So the only caveat with creating vector illustrations is just the rendering part, which shouldn't get in your way too much if you work on larger images.