For Today’s ABCs of Photography, we’re learning about a slang term for pixelization: “jaggies.” The term refers to how a computer uses square pixels to create diagonal and curved lines.
The more pixels there are in a line, the smoother the line will appear.
And the opposite is true too.
The fewer pixels there are, the more the jagged the line will appear.
Jagged.
Jaggies.
See where the term comes from?
Now, for practical applications. Color by numbers are a good way to understand this concept!
So we’re going to get out a piece of graph paper, and a plain piece of paper.
First, have your child draw a design with curved lines on the plain piece of paper.
Next, put the graph paper over top. If you can’t see the design through the graph paper, tape both sheets up on the window.
Now it’s time for the fun part. Have your child trace the design onto the graph paper, but with one rule —
They have to follow the straight lines of the graph paper.
Easier said than done, I know. But just give it a shot. You may find the end result to be more recognizable than you’d think.
Here’s an example of how this shows up in a digital image that has been resaved at a very low resolution:
Image by Liselotte Brunner from Pixabay.com. Used with permission.
Make sure to check back next week for the next post, where I’ll share an activity for the letter K. You might also enjoy revisiting last week’s activity where we learned about hue.
Join Betsy as she works through the alphabet in this educational series for kids… The ABCs of Photography! We’ll cover topics from A to Z, with activity ideas for both younger and older kids
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