VectaSketch is a Java based applet that does basic 2D graphics.
The above is not a animated GIF it is a VectaSketch
script only 2K in size! Everything is being drawn over and over in real time.
VectaSketch is Copyright 1999-2001 by Larry Mears
LarryMears@hotmail.com
Vectasketch is shareware. There is no charge for the use of the VectaSketch
applet on non-profit sites, just mention it's use.
If the VectaSketch applet "vsketch1.class" is used in ANYWAY to draw attention
where there is profit involved it must be registered for the site it is used on,
the cost is only $20 USD. Hey that's only about the price of a music CD. It also registers
SketchPad at the same time a VectaSketch
drawing program.
Goto Registration Form
VectaSketch is not to be confused with Vecta3d tm and or Shockwave/Flash tm. It can
do some of the things they do but VectSketch was not meant to compete with them.
Why use VectaSketch? Well it's written in JAVA 1.0
making it compatible on many browsers without having to go download a plug in. It's only 33K in
size making for less WAIT TIME for the user plus the VectaSketch scripts are very small and editable
with a text editor, also VectaSketch is way easier than coding effects in JAVA, no compiling. The same "vsketch.class"
is used over and over so a new Java class doesn't have to be transmitted over the phone line for every
effect your browser just grabs it out of it's cache. With just 2 or 3K of VectaSketch script you can do
what a animated GIF would take thousands of bytes to do. VectaSketch can load GIFs and JPGs and
grab pieces of them, move them around stretch and shrink them. VectaSketch has random commands for
making things look different every time. It can even branch randomly on mouseovers or clicks, it's
a pretty cool tool for webmasters and free, unless you use it commercially. Although you
only see one screen at a time in VectSketch it actually has 6 screens. You can use these
extra screens for smoothing animations or storing images for animation. You could do short
cartoons with VectSketch if you really wanted but VectaSketch is more suited to Web page
effects and really flashy eye grabbing banners. Since VectaSketch was based on the original
"Instant Graphics" (description)
program from 1985 it is designed for very low bandwidth, back then modems weren't
56K baud they were 2.4k baud (24 times slower), even at that rate I could pull up fancy menus and screens
in 10 to 20 seconds!
Demo 1