Images and computers were for many years totally separate. Over the last decade, however, a variety of different digital imaging technologies and tools have evolved. Such systems can create and display graphics comparable to anything previously prepared by hand. It's this capability that makes the use of images in a multimedia title both feasible and necessary.
The images used in a multimedia application will either be bitmaps or vector graphics. Which format you use depends on the needs of your application. You'll probably combine both types of images in any multimedia titles you create. The next few sections describe some characteristics of bitmap and vector graphics.