How to use vector graphics to create cool custom graphics in PowerPoint

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Free graphics aren't written connected chromatic successful Microsoft PowerPoint. Many volition let you to ungroup each the pieces, usage what you privation and delete what you don't.

Graphics tin beryllium a immense portion of your PowerPoint presentation. From icons to slug points, to animated images, you person a plan successful your head, but you whitethorn not person the skills of a graphic creator oregon decorator to make it. When this happens, you tin surely prosecute a professional—and you should successful immoderate situations. On the different hand, with the magnitude of escaped graphic creation retired there, it's worthy uncovering thing that benignant of meets your needs and past adapting it. You don't request immoderate specialized skills. You lone request a bully consciousness for what you want.

SEE: 83 Excel tips each idiosyncratic should master (TechRepublic)

I'm utilizing Microsoft 365 (desktop) connected a Windows 10 64-bit system, but you tin usage earlier versions. For your convenience, you tin download the objection .pptx and .ppt files. This nonfiction isn't due for the online version. This nonfiction assumes you person basal skills successful PowerPoint, specified arsenic inserting objects and formatting, but adjacent a beginner should beryllium capable to enactment done the instructions to success.

Make a program for your customized graphic

When adding customized graphics to a presentation, whether for icons, slug points oregon animation, you request a spot of program earlier you really commencement inserting things. For astir of us, that means relating graphics to the enactment the presumption represents. Think astir the logo—its shapes and colors—and incorporated those successful your graphics erstwhile appropriate. In addition, deliberation astir the constituent you're trying to illustrate. Did profits spell up? That could mean thing from a bold arrow to a smiley face, to a elemental substance message—Congratulations! On the different hand, if you truly can't travel up with thing from the start, there's thing incorrect with a spot of probe to spark your imagination.

How to insert a graphic successful PowerPoint

Finding the close graphic tin beryllium frustrating. You tin prosecute a nonrecreational to plan and make your graphics, oregon you tin experimentation a small and usage pieces of 1 oregon galore graphics to make a graphic.

Now let's accidental that you merchantability koi fish, and you privation to make a graphic, rapidly and easily. You recovered one, but it isn't the wide representation you imagined. The bully quality is that you tin insert the graphic, interruption it down into pieces and past usage the pieces to make a antithetic design.

First, we request a graphic and the banal images accessible with PowerPoint. It came done for us, arsenic you tin spot successful Figure A. In a blank slide, bash the following:

Click the Insert tab and click Pictures successful the Pictures group.
Choose Stock Images successful the dropdown.
In the resulting pane, click Illustrations.
Find the koi graphic, click it, and past click Insert.

Figure A

Once the graphic is successful a slide, you indispensable spot if it's thing you tin use.

About vectors

If you find a graphic that's cleanable arsenic is, great. If not, you tin take 1 that's close, take the pieces and delete what you don't need. But you can't bash that with each graphic. You're looking for vector files. In the simplest terms, a vector record is stored arsenic a bid of lines and curves, alternatively than pixels (little dots). They're easier to scale. A broadside payment is that you tin often abstracted the lines.

To find if a graphic is simply a vector file, look astatine the extension; astir vector files are .svg, .cgm, .odg, .eps and .xml files. When utilizing the banal images option, you won't cognize what benignant of record a graphic is. Once it's inserted, you tin right-click and take Save As Picture to spot the file's sanction and extension. As you tin spot successful Figure B, the objection graphic is an .svg file, truthful we should beryllium capable to usage it.

Figure B

Separating the pieces

The archetypal measurement to dismantling the koi graphic is to prime it and past click the contextual Graphics Format tab. In the Arrange group, click the Group dropdown and take Ungroup. If the Ungroup enactment is dimmed, you can't usage the graphic; find different graphic to enactment with. However, this shouldn't hap with a vector file. Just the same, erstwhile you click Ungroup, PowerPoint displays the connection successful Figure C. Keeping going; click Yes.

Figure C

You mightiness spot this connection erstwhile trying to ungroup vector files. Figure D shows the ungrouped image. We're fortunate due to the fact that this 1 has lone 4 parts to enactment with; sometimes these files are precise analyzable and removing pieces without impacting what you privation to support is difficult. I urge that you enactment with a copy. That mode if you truly messiness it up, you tin delete the mess, marque a caller transcript and commencement implicit without having to insert the graphic again.

Figure D

We privation to support some of the food and delete each of the background. If you like, commencement pulling the antithetic pieces isolated to get an thought of however it's enactment together. To bash so, click anyplace extracurricular the graphic to wide the prime and commencement clicking to prime a portion astatine a time. Figure E shows the 4 pieces separated. Keep lone the 2 fish; delete the inheritance ellipse and the rectangle with bubbles.

Figure E

Use the rotation grip to presumption some koi. Figure F shows the placement you want. You'll besides person to rotate (horizontally) the achromatic koi. Click the Arrange dropdown, take Rotate and past take Rotate Horizontally. (The objection .pptx record has a descent of lone the koi if you can't presumption them correctly, oregon you similar not to.)

Figure F

Finishing up

It's clip to see logo art, shapes and truthful on. Let's accidental your institution logo is blue. Let's make a bluish circle, format it to lucifer an icon and enactment the koi and ellipse together.

The finished ellipse is successful Figure G. Insert a ellipse from the Shapes dropdown connected the Insert menu. Hold down the Shift cardinal arsenic you gully the ellipse to marque definite it's a cleanable circle. With the signifier selected, usage the contextual Shape Format tab's Shape Fill, Shape Outline and Shape Effects options to adhd a airy bluish capable colour with a gradient (or not), an outline and a shadow. After adding the koi, you tin ever alteration your mind.

Figure G

With the inheritance ready, transcript the 2 koi parts to the background. Figure H is my results—don't interest if yours is simply a spot different. I acceptable the slide's inheritance to a acheronian grey to lucifer the grey and achromatic fish. You could conscionable arsenic easy lucifer the orangish koi. Then, I went backmost to the archetypal descent and copied the bubbles twice; the bubbles aren't symmetrical connected purpose. You're escaped to alteration the positions of the koi, the inheritance colors and truthful on. For instance, the circle's shadiness is mislaid successful the acheronian background. This is simply a elemental determination to make: lighten the inheritance oregon region the shadow.

Figure H

After you enactment done a fewer vector images, you'll statesman to make a spot of a 2nd quality astir what volition enactment and won't don't. Before you start, beryllium definite to look astatine the file's sanction to marque definite it's a vector file. The constituent is to larn however to usage escaped vector clipart, icons, illustrations and truthful connected to make what you want. When the caller graphic is done, see grouping each the pieces and the inheritance truthful you tin easy resize and reposition. In this demonstration, the finished representation is large, but you tin marque it immoderate size you like—even overmuch smaller, you tin inactive marque retired the details.