what do you use to vectorize?

[signwizz]

what do you use when you have to hand draw something then scan it then trace it .I've tried sharpie and paper ,acatate but i still get crappy traces lots of nodes and jagged......
any help would be appreciated
shane

 

[J Hill Designs]

coreltrace first, if that proves unacceptable, then illy live trace if I need it to be a bit mo betta

 

[signswi]

Pen tool in illustrator...

 

[WildWestDesigns]

Pen tool in illustrator...

+1

 

[oldgoatroper]

I still use Adobe Streamline 4.0 -- I still think it is better than any of the new stuff for doing line art.

 

[Custom_Grafx]

I like illy live trace too.

It's worthwhile to clean up in photoshop first though - as you mentioned, you end up with jagged lines otherwise.

In live trace, if you have path fitting at 2px for example, if you clean down to that level in PS, you should be right.

 

[signwizz]

what if you hand draw something on paper then bring it in do you scan then correct or bring it in and start tracing with the node tools

 

[Bill Modzel]

I used Steamline since the early 90's but Live Trace blows it away. Just don't run on auto, tweak the settings and you can pull some great accurate detail out of your raster artwork.

 

[Custom_Grafx]

I still use Adobe Streamline 4.0 -- I still think it is better than any of the new stuff for doing line art.

Holy crap I didn't think anyone would even mention that... I remember barely starting to learn that... then having to start using live trace in CS. Back then, the live trace in CS was nowhere near as good as streamline. Live trace is heaps better now than it used to be when it first came out...

but yes... streamline was one advanced piece of software!

 

[weaselboogie]

I usually use corels trace and then delete and adjust nodes manually.

 

[showcase 66]

Pen tool in illustrator...

+1

Or the Vector Doctor.

 

[toomeycustoms]

Vector Magic works pretty well if you have a decent bitmap to begin with. You will still have to clean it up a little.

 

[signmeup]

Corel X4 "quick trace". For getting hand did art into the computer I use my digital camera.

 

[The Vector Doctor]

depends on what your drawing looks like. If very sketchy and you want to retain that look, then an autotrace may work well but there will be alot of nodes to edit. It is a tradeoff

Or the best way is to go in and trace by hand using various weights of stroked lines and then converting those lines to objects - if cutting the logo is desired. If printed, you can leave all lines as strokes

Here are samples of how I have handled some hand drawn sketches. All were relatively clean but an autotrace would not have worked on any of these

http://twitpic.com/photos/TheVectorDoctor

#3, #12 and #16

 

[phototec]

I find it better to use Photoshop to clean it up and increase the contrast, then use the BLUR filter to smooth out the edges, then again increase the contrast. Then use LiveTrace in Illy and work with the settings (threshold), you can get some great results.

Here is one of many videos available on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDAW88s-3tc

 

[bob]

I object to the term 'vectorize'. It presumes the existence of sufficient information in a bitmap that can be extracted in vector form. That is not the case.

Creating a vector image from bitmap is, always is, only is, tracing what you or some algorithm perceives as edges. Period.

There is a lot of software that will create vectors for creating vectors for whatever it perceives as edges. The results are functionally no different than if you did it by hand. Just faster but with a total and often entertaining lack of judgement.

You can start off with some tracing program or another but, if the image is sufficiently vague, which is almost always, you'll still have to diddle the results by hand.

 

[Colin]

what do you use when you have to hand draw something then scan it then trace it .I've tried sharpie and paper ,acatate but i still get crappy traces lots of nodes and jagged......
any help would be appreciated
shane

Isn't Shane asking what sort of black pen and paper to use for scanning - one that will provide for a nice sharp edge? Not what software.

 

[ionsigns]

Hand drawn? WHAAAAAT? Just kidding. IMHO to attain top quality outputs from images drawn by human hand, there will exist a computer operator who vectors it in Illustrator® from a scanned image. Streamline! Nostagia! It worked when Corel 8 CorelTrace DID NOT!

Hand drawn on acetate with Sharpie® or Staedtler® Lumocolor at large scale [at least 1:4 - maximum 4x enlargement when cut] can work if art is vectorized in CorelTrace X4 or X5 and nodes manually edited. Acetate avoids bleed that vellum or paper causes due to ink bleeding in the fibers.

A quality graphic artist will be adept at editing nodes in their chosen vector based software: Illustrator, Corel, SignLab, Flexi, VMP ...et. al.

A crap cut from vector in vinyl is a outward sign of a crappy graphic artist: patience, skill and such. (trademarks property of their respective owners).

 

[Joe Diaz]

I sketch on paper... Trace and clean that up on a transparent film using sharpies... Scan it in... In the rare case that I use Corel Trace I first adjust the contrast of the bitmap accordingly to get a cleaner edge, then like weaselboogie said, I clean up the nodes. But most of the time I trace it manually using the freehand tool. I like to do it manually because I can cleanup the design even more.

 

[Colin]

When it comes to editing/cleaning up a scanned vector image, I still absolutely love my old ScanVec Inspire 1.6. The editing tools are amazing.