Photoshop vs Illustrator: Which Is a Better Graphic Designing Tool

Photoshop and Illustrator are amongst the most popular graphic designing tools available in the market. But which one is better for you?

Should you design your brand logo, merchandise, or other designs in Photoshop or Illustrator?

Well, we have a detailed Photoshop vs Illustrator comparison to help you find what is the difference between Photoshop and Illustrator. We will discuss their features, differences, when to use them, and what they are for.

This will help you find which is better, Photoshop or Illustrator.

What is Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop is raster-based graphic editing software that uses pixels to make images. These pixels are a million squares arranged together, and this arrangement is memorized and used by the computer every time it displays the picture.

All the Photoshop files are saved in the .psd extension, but you can also save them in .png and .jpg file formats.

What is Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Illustrator is a vector-based graphic editing software that uses vectors to create images. These images are completely scalable and can be used as small or large as the quality, clarity, or resolution will not be compromised.

Adobe Illustrator also gives the best quality output when it comes to giving a print. Some of the common vector file extensions that graphic designers use include .eps, .svg, and .ai.

Photoshop vs Illustrator: Comparison Table

Adobe Illustrator Vs Photoshop: Key Differences

The key difference between Illustrator and Photoshop is that Illustrator is an image creation tool, whereas Photoshop is an image editing tool. Illustrator is used for creating logos, hand drawings, custom typographies, and more, without any limitation of scalability. However, Photoshop is a great graphic designing tool for image editing, retouching, and manipulation.

In this article, let’s understand the differences between Photoshop vs Illustrator in detail.

Photoshop Vs Illustrator: In Terms of Features

Let’s draw a comparison of Photoshop vs Illustrator based on their features and graphic designing tools.

Photoshop is majorly used for editing images. However, Illustrator is widely preferred for image creation purposes. Photoshop allows designers to perform image editing functions like cropping, image masking, adjusting image lighting, color grading, adding or removing backgrounds, blemishes, and more. Also, when we talk about Adobe Illustrator vs Photoshop, you need to consider Photoshop add-ons such as external plug-ins, filters, etc.

All these image editing tools are available in Adobe Illustrator. But, when comparing Photoshop vs Illustrator for drawing, Illustrator has an upper hand. It is an ideal image creation software that allows designers to create free-hand drawings, sketches, and logos. It also offers other important features such as line drawing, typography, coloring options, etc.

You can use Illustrator’s vector images on Photoshop as well, but it is not recommended because it loses its scalability and quality. Working on Photoshop gives you the freedom of working on the same image again, but with Illustrator you cannot work on the same project once it is saved as a normal image.

Suggested Read: 10 Best Free Photoshop Alternatives With Similar Features (Updated List) 2022

Photoshop Vs Illustrator: Pros & Cons

Further, let’s understand the difference between Photoshop and illustrator through the pros and cons that come with both those graphic design software.

Pros of Photoshop

• Ideal for photo retouching
• Works great with raw photos
• Photo color grading
• Multiple image editing tools are available
• You can take complete control of your project, edit pixel by pixel
• Editing tools available for image manipulation
• Additional plugins, textures, and filters available
• Free trial available

Cons of Photoshop

• Scaling limitations while working with raster images
• Not an ideal choice for creating logos from scratch
• A complex tool with endless editing tools
• It is a bit expensive. Therefore, look into photoshop alternatives for more options.

In addition to this, any changes you make to the vector logo in illustrator will be reflected directly on your Photoshop file because of the project file import.

Pros of Adobe Illustrator

• Great for creating scalable graphics
• Offers a comparatively better print quality compared to Photoshop
• Ideal for creating vector-based graphics
• Does not depend on the resolution of the project
• You can create graphics, web designs, and text documents
• Ideal for free-hand drawing

Cons of Adobe Illustrator

• Difficulty in working with existing graphics
• Limited image editing tools
• Consumes a lot of storage on the system’s disk space

Photoshop Vs Illustrator: Which is Better

On comparing the difference between Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, we can conclude that Illustrator is an image-creating tool, whereas Photoshop is an image editing tool. Illustrator is great for web designing, freehand drawing, creating logos, etc. However, Photoshop is good when it comes to image editing for social media posts, digital painting, photo retouching, etc.

Both Photoshop and Illustrator have their own pros and cons, but to get the best results, designers must try using both software together.

When to Use Illustrator

Graphic designers can use Adobe Illustrator when they want to create something that can be printed on large canvas like billboards, or even walls, or small canvases like pocket business cards. Illustrator graphics can be easily scaled up and down without losing quality and clarity.

Using Adobe Illustrator is also great if you want to create:

• Logos & icons
• Freehand drawing
• Line drawing
• Custom fonts
• Scalable graphics

When to Use Photoshop

Photoshop is great to use when you want to make changes to an existing image or graphic because they will stay in the same image size. In fact, you can also have complete control over the graphic by working pixel by pixel on the image.

Photoshop is best for:

• Photo editing/ retouching
• Making changes in a graphic
• Correct lighting
• 3D painting

When to Use Illustrator and Photoshop Simultaneously

Let’s understand how you can use Illustrator and Photoshop together to take your creative projects to the next level.

Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop come in the Adobe Creative Cloud suite and can be used together. You can import vector graphics created in Adobe Illustrator to Photoshop and turn that into a raster file and work further on it. At the same time, a Photoshop file can be added in Illustrator. Creators can link these files so that the changes made in one file will reflect in another file in real-time.

For example, you want to launch merchandise for a brand. You can create a vector logo for the brand on Adobe Illustrator, that can be imported to Photoshop. Now, in Photoshop, you can use this vector file as an image on mugs, t-shirts, pens, and other merchandise materials.

Find Out the Difference Between Vector and Raster

Before discovering the difference Photoshop and Illustrator, let’s have a clear understanding of the difference between vector and raster graphics.

What are Raster Graphics?

Raster graphics are the ones where you use pixels to create different images. Pixels are millions of different colored tiny squares that combine together to create an image. You can clearly see these tiny squares when zoom in on an image, especially at the corners. However, you will not be able to see them from afar.

What are Vector Graphics?

Vector graphics are created by using mathematical constructs. Images created using vectors are created by connecting two dots using a computer algorithm. Individually these connections are called vector paths, and together they create a vector object. They appear clear no matter how much you zoom in or zoom out on the graphic.

Now, let’s check how raster and vector graphics are used in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.

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Related Categories: Photo Editing Software | 3D Design Software | Graphic Design Software