Images built from mathematical curves and shapes, not pixels — infinite scalability without degradation. Essential for motion design and title sequences.
You need graphics that can be scaled infinitely without becoming pixelated — then you're working with vector graphics. Unlike raster graphics, which consist of a fixed grid of pixels, vector graphics define shapes through mathematical curves and anchor points. A line isn't "a series of pixels" but a Bezier curve with a start and end point; a circle is created from a formula, not a bitmap. This means: You can scale them up to 120% or down to 20% — the quality remains equally sharp.
On set and in editing, vector graphics primarily showcase their strength in motion design. Title sequences, lower thirds, animated logos, infographics — these are almost exclusively created using vector-based software like Adobe Illustrator, After Effects, or Blender. The practical advantage: You design your graphic once, export it cleanly, and then rescale it according to project requirements without touching the original Adobe file. With pixel graphics (Photoshop, PNG), you would have to rework it with every size change or live with upscaling tricks.
Important for the pipeline: Vector graphics are typically exported as .ai (Illustrator), .eps, or .svg and then imported into After Effects, Nuke, or DaVinci Fusion. In compositing, your standard is working with vector shapes directly in the timeline — you draw masks, paths, and animations vector-based, without a single pixel ever coming into play. This gives you maximum flexibility for rotoscoping or animation control. Only during the final output to DNxHD or ProRes is your vector graphic rasterized — then it has a fixed pixel resolution.
A pitfall: Photorealistic images cannot be meaningfully rendered as vectors. Complex textures, shadows, color nuances — you need these in raster. But for everything graphic, geometric, typographic — vector is the standard you don't need to ask for. The software world clearly separates here: Illustrator and InDesign for design output, After Effects and Nuke for animation and compositing.