CorelDRAW. Bitmap tracing

14.06.2012

Today we're going to take a look at the new tracing engine in Adobe Illustrator CS6 and talk about its new features. First, we'll draw a photo, sketch, and texture, and then compare the results obtained in Adobe Illustrator CS5 and Adobe Illustrator CS6. So, let's begin!

Step 1

In Adobe Illustrator CS6, tracing options are now in a new palette - Image Tracing (Window > Tracing).

The appearance of this palette will allow us to use other palettes and tools during tracing. Adobe Illustrator CS5, as well as earlier versions of the program, did not have such features. Tracing parameters were set in the Tracing Settings dialog box. And it was impossible to work with other objects and interfaces.

Step 2

There are also changes in presets.

Adobe Illustrator CS6 has a new Silhouettes preset that allows you to quickly create a vector silhouette.

After applying the Expand command, we will get a vector object with the optimal number of anchor points.

Step 3

Let's compare the tracing quality in Adobe Illustrator CS5 and Adobe Illustrator CS6 after applying the High Fidelity Photo preset.

Note that in Adobe Illustrator CS6, there are several options in the Palette list to choose from. This option is set when the image mode is set to Color or Grayscale. As you can see, the new tracing engine in Adobe Illustrator CS6 gives better results.

Adobe Illustrator has a new feature that allows you to instantly see the original image. Press and hold the "eye" next to the View option.

Step 4

There are some changes to the Max Colors setting. This option specifies the number of colors that will be included in the final image. In Adobe Illustrator CS5, the maximum number of colors can be set as a number, and in Adobe Illustrator CS6, as a percentage with high precision.

Step 5

By opening the Advanced tab in the Tracing palette, you can specify additional settings. Adobe Illustrator CS6 introduced the ability to select a tracing method. The Abutting method creates clipping paths. The contours of objects are joined.

The Overlapping method creates contours one above the other, the contours of objects are superimposed.

Step 6

The Fit Contour option determines the accuracy of tracing the original bitmap. In Adobe Illustrator CS5, the smaller the value, the finer the outline, the larger the value, the coarser the outline. In Adobe Illustrator CS6, the opposite is true: the larger the number, the more precise the contour we will get.

The Minimum Area option in Adobe Illustrator CS5 corresponds to the Noise option in Adobe Illustrator CS6. This option determines the size of the smallest details of the original image that will be taken into account when tracing.

The Minimum Angle option in Abode Illustrator CS5 corresponds to the Angles option in Adobe Illustrator CS6 and is set as a percentage. The higher the number we set, the more corners will be in the final image.

In Adobe Illustrator CS6 there are no tracing options such as Blur and Resample. In Adobe Illustrator CS5, the Blur setting is used to reduce fine details and soften the edges of the resulting image. The Change resolution setting speeds up the process of tracing large images and reduces the quality loss of the final image.

Step 7

Let's see how the new tracing mechanism works with sketches. Apply the Black and White preset. Sketch tracing in Adobe Illustrator CS5 gives good results.

If we apply the same preset in Adobe Illustrator CS6, most of the small details will disappear.

Unfortunately, in order to achieve the same results in Adobe Illustrator CS6 as in Adobe Illustrator CS5, you need to change the tracing parameters manually.

Step 8

Let's try to do texture tracing. Apply the same Black and White preset. As you can see, the tracing result in Adobe Illustrator CS5 looks better than in Adobe Illustrator CS6.

Function Image Tracing in Adobe Illustrator is the fastest way to convert an image to vector format for high quality printing in any size. With the introduction of an improved function Image Trace

Adobe Illustrator CS6 and subsequent updates have opened up a world of possibilities for graphics software users who want to be able to trace line art and photographs and turn them into vector images. Users can now convert bitmaps to vectors and files with relative ease PNG to SVG files using Illustrator.

Illustrator often used to convert images from scanned or drawn images to a pixel art program, such as Adobe Photoshop, into clear vector lines. There are two ways to track images in Illustrator CC. You can manually trace them using template layers and drawing tools, or use the "Image Trace"

So, let's begin.

Unlike raster images, vector images are made up of mathematical paths that allow designs to scale indefinitely while maintaining their quality.

Here's how to easily convert a bitmap to vector using the tool Image Trace in Adobe Illustrator:

Step one.
Opening the image in Adobe Illustrator, select " Window» > « Image tracing».This will bring up the panel image trace.

step two
With the image selected, check the box Preview. This will give you a lively look at your vector image. Don't worry if it doesn't look great.
Step Three
Select the dropdown menu " Mode” and select the mode that best suits your design.

Step Four
Then adjust the slider " Colors», « Grey" or " Threshold". This slider will change depending on the mode you select, however the functionality between the three sliders remains similar.
Colors- the maximum number of colors used for tracing.
Grace- grayscale accuracy from 0 to 100.
Threshold- Pixels darker than the threshold are converted to black.

If it's too low, it may make your image look too simple. And if it's too high, it can make your image look too complex. However, it all depends on your unique image.

Step five
Toggle menu " Additionally» down for more options.

Step Six
Adjust the slider " Ways».

It sets the number of paths in your design. Fewer paths means a simpler design, but if there are too few paths, it can distort your image or make it look square. Conversely, too many paths can make the edges of your design look very rough. Again, it all depends on your unique image - so it's best to find a happy environment.

step seven
Adjust the slider " corners».

This controls the number of corners in your design. Fewer corners will make your design curves more rounded, and more corners will make your design curves more defined.

Step eight.
Adjust the slider Noise.

What is the trace function in Illustrator for? It is used primarily to convert a raster image to a vector image. And this, in turn, is necessary for the manufacture of logos, all kinds of images of an advertising nature.

With the help of tracing in Illustrator, you can create a multi-color interesting graphic picture from a simple freehand drawing with a pencil. Adobe Illustrator is designed solely as a vector graphics editor. But today, designers use it for various purposes: for the manufacture of advertising booklets, greeting cards, logos. A vector graphics editor is widely used in publishing because it has a large set of tools. With it, you can not only draw, but also control color, text.

What is tracing for?

To answer this question, consider the following situation. The designer develops a corporate identity for a particular company, and with it a logo. In the future, this sign will be used on the official website of the company, and on products, and on advertising banners. At the same time, the sizes required are different everywhere. Even with the most careful scanning, it is impossible to create a perfect bitmap. The only option is to use a vector editor. But creating an image from scratch in such a program is not the fastest and best way.

The main task of tracing is to obtain a vector analogue. True, in practice, designers create not one such analogue, but several, which generally correspond in shape and proportions to the original bitmap.

Create a sketch

So where to start? How to trace an image in illustrator? First of all, you should create a drawing, which will later be processed in a graphic editor. You need to draw a sketch. Today, all kinds of inscriptions are very common and popular, mainly in English. In order to understand how to make a trace in Illustrator, we will use a similar simple drawing as an example.

Any design project starts with a sketch. This is not a work of art, but only a way to fix the idea. A person who does not have drawing skills can learn how to create sketches. To do this, you just need to be able to create geometric shapes on paper and, of course, know some tricks.

Scanning

When the sketch is ready, it should be scanned. You can do this with a camera or phone. It is desirable, of course, that the quality of the apparatus be as high as possible. The resulting GIF image should be transferred to a computer. Before scanning, it is desirable to circle the outlines of the sketch with ink or a black gel pen. Why this should be done is discussed below.

In the finished GIF image, made by photographing the drawing, the background often turns out to be grayish. But this shortcoming is easy to fix. In any graphic editor there are functions "Brightness" and "Contrast". A simple program like Skype Photo can also improve the quality of a photo. After the image is loaded into the editor, you need to use the "Deepen" and "Lighten" functions ("Brightness, color" button). But in many ways, the final result depends on the quality of the original drawing.

We translate into a vector image

Open Adobe Illustrator. Click "File", then "Open". After you need to click on the image using the "Select" function. And we proceed directly to the trace. In Illustrator, this function can be found by clicking on the "Object", then in the drop-down menu, select the "Trace" item. There is another reason why you can't leave an image as a GIF. By tracing in Illustrator, we convert a raster image into a vector one. This allows you to not depend on the extension in the future. You can change the scale of the picture many times, its quality will not suffer from this.

It is important to remember that the original image should be as contrasting as possible. It should not have many shades, halftones. That is why the ideal option is a drawing made in ink or ink. It makes no sense to create a sketch in color. It must be clear, black and white. What is hand tracing in Illustrator? This is the use of various tools ("Pen", "Brush") to give clarity to the drawing.

Settings

Tracing has several levels. In order to select the appropriate one, you need to click on the "Style" button, then select the appropriate option. It can be "Technical drawing", "Black and white logo". Starting work with the Adobe Illustrator editor, as with other similar programs, it is worth experimenting more often, not relying solely on the instructions of professionals. This is the only way to learn and gain experience. If you don't like the trace level, it's easy to cancel it. To do this, click "Edit", then "Cancel" and try another option.

Quick tracing in Illustrator CC can be found in the Object tab. Then "Trace Options" will open. Here you can select the color mode. You must select 6 as the maximum number of colors, then click on "Trace". If desired, the picture can be made more clear. For example, by selecting "Maximum number of colors 60". Which of these options will be the best depends again on the original image. Here, too, it is worth experimenting, comparing different options.

Making changes

Already finished images can be changed many times in the future. For example, make the letters smaller, more elongated. Some elements can be permanently removed using the "Eraser". In order to do this as accurately as possible, you should zoom in on the image.

You can delete, change the size and shape of individual elements using the Knife tool. New details are added when using the "Brush". Thanks to tracing, the sketch is reduced, modified, edited. Raster images are regularly converted to vector images primarily by stockers, that is, those who are engaged in the manufacture and sale of images. We can say that tracing is the basis of vector illustration.

In this tutorial, I'll show you how to draw a realistic image of a plum using manual tracing. What it is? In general, tracing is the transfer of an image from a raster to a vector. Of course, there is automatic tracing, but if you decide to learn illustrator, then you don’t really need this function. The fact is that, for example, the vast majority of stocks simply do not accept images with auto-tracing: as a result of it, too many control points are formed, and editing such an image is simply unrealistic, and the size of the document increases significantly.

Manual tracing is actually a drawing lesson when you need to trace the image along the contour, and then “colorize” it. If you are a beginner illustrator, then this lesson will be a good practice for you to work with the pen, pencil and MeshTool. And now let's go directly to the lesson.

In figure 1 you see a picture, which is the basis of our future illustration. This is a sketch that I drew a few years ago, and now we will need it. Open the Adobe illustrator program (I have the CS5 version), create a new document and place our sketch there (File - Place - open the desired image on the computer). Next, we need to make this layer semi-transparent so that it is visible, but does not interfere with drawing. I do it this way: I select the image and in the Transparency panel move the Opacity slider to 30-40% (choose the most comfortable value for yourself). Figure 2 shows what should happen. So that the sketch does not interfere with our drawing, we block it. On the Layers panel, next to the layer name, there are two squares: an eye is drawn in one, and the second is empty. Here we click on the empty one; a padlock will appear in it, indicating that the layer is locked and no manipulations with the sketch are possible.

Now create a new layer (on the Layers panel, the CreateNewLayer button), and start drawing. You can use the PenTool or PencilTool. I choose a pencil because I haven't got a tablet yet, and when you draw with a mouse, your hand trembles a little and the lines are fuzzy. When the path is created and I release the mouse button, the path is slightly smoothed (smoothing options can be set in the pencil menu by double-clicking on this tool).

First, let's draw a branch. Our task is to create a contour. Therefore, we outline the twig visible on the bottom layer, closing the path. It turned out to be a kind of irregularly shaped rectangle. If you work without a graphics tablet, then your outline will be uneven to some extent. To align it, as close as possible to the outline of the sketch, we will use the tool DirectSelectionTool (Partial selection). Having selected it, we select one by one the necessary anchor points that are "knocked out" from the overall picture, holding the Shift key, and dragging them into place. The guides are very easy to use. In a word, you need to bring the copy as close as possible to the original. Something like this (Figure 3).

I do not strive for a perfectly even contour - in the case of plums and other fruits, berries and flowers, this does not make much sense. If you are tracing a human face, then you need accuracy. In the same way, we circle the rest of the elements - a leaf, two plums and two petioles. In total, we get six closed contours (Figure 4).

I will give you some useful tips. Firstly, when you are editing paths, the already drawn paths can interfere with you when working with the next one. I recommend blocking all intersecting and nearby objects so that there is no confusion. To lock an object, click on the layer name and it will "expand" to show all the objects that are on it. Select the ones you want and block them.

Secondly, you may have problems with the edges of the drawn paths. My recommendation for this is that you don't have to bother with sharply defined edges, just make the outlines a little longer and hide them under the underlying objects. The only exception will be the topmost object - it must be drawn clearly. To make it clear to you, I will explain with our example. The topmost object we have is the plum, located on the right. The left plum is as if under the right, so its right (sorry for the tautology) edge can not be drawn clearly - anyway, it will hide behind the top plum. You can do the same with the lower edges of the petioles (they will hide behind the plums), and with the edge of the leaf (he will hide behind the branch). I hope I have explained clearly.

The third tip is about drawing plums. Instead of a pencil, it would be appropriate to use the EllipseTool tool (Ellipse). Holding down the Alt key, draw an oval in the area of ​​​​the plum, approximately resembling its outline, and edit it, giving it a little roughness. Before the next step, do not forget to unlock all objects.

Now we have an equally important task - to color our drawing. I love using the MeshTool for this. It's not the easiest tool to use, but if you use it skillfully, you can create some very impressive images. Its main plus is that Mesh allows you to create the effect of a three-dimensional image in a two-dimensional space. First we need to give our objects primary colors. Create a fill for each object: let the leaf and petioles be green, the twig brown, and the plums purple. Choose colors that will dominate the object (see Figure 5). Then unlock the sketch layer and move it to the side so you can see it. You can also make it brighter (Opacity = 100%) (see Figure 6).

So, the MeshTool is, in fact, a gradient mesh, that is, a network at the intersection of the axes of which there are nodal points. At these points, as well as in grid cells, we have the ability to set any color, and the overall picture of the object converted into a gradient mesh looks like such a complex gradient.

Let's start with the drain on the right (block the one on the left). Select its path you drew and press Object - CreateGradientMesh. You will see a dialog box asking you to select the number of rows and columns (Rows and Columns). Set both fields to "4" and the Appearance field to "ToCenter", Highlight=20%.

Now you should emphasize the highlights and chiaroscuro with color, create the illusion of a three-dimensional object. To do this, select the DirectSelectionTool and select the anchor point where you want to change the color. It will stand out (become filled, while the rest will remain uncolored), as in Figure 7. Now you can apply a color to it. I take a pale pink, almost white color. I do the same with the anchor point at the bottom right (see Figure 8). These are our highlights.

Then, in the same way, focusing on the initial sketch, we denote the shadows. Let's add dark blue shades in those places that should be shaded, create smooth color transitions (see Figure 9).

Figure 9

For fast (automatic) tracing of bitmaps in one go:

1. Load the bitmap into the editor with the command File (File) | Import.
2. Select the image with the tool Pick Tool (Pointer).
3. Choose a team Bitmap (Bitmaps) | Trace Bitmap | Quick Trace- rice. 6.3.

Rice. 6.3.

For finer work during the tracing process, select one of the options for the initial raster blank:

• Line art (Line art)- tracing black and white sketches and illustrations;
• Logo (emblem)- tracing of simple emblems with low detail and a small number of colors;
• Detailed logo- tracing emblems with high detail and a large number of colors;
• Clipart (Pictures)- tracing finished graphics with varying degrees of detail and number of colors;
• Low Quality Image- tracing photos with low detail or photos for which high detail does not matter
• High Quality Image- high quality photo tracing with high detail

Let's trace a black-and-white line drawing (Fig. 6.4).

There are two important controls in this window:

• smoothing- smoothing curved lines and controlling the number of nodes in the trace results. High values ​​reduce the number of nodes and create curves that roughly follow the lines in the original bitmap. Lower values ​​increase the number of nodes, providing more accurate trace results.
• Detail- setting the degree of preservation of the original detail in the trace results. Higher values ​​retain more detail, increasing the number of objects and colors. Low values ​​remove some detail, making objects smaller.

Additional features include the following tracing settings:

• Type of Image- a list for selecting a blank style in the list of types of source images;
• Checkbox Delete original image;
• Checkbox Remove background;
• In field Options there is an option to select the background color that you want to remove. Select the color to be removed from the original image with an eyedropper (click it in the preview window while holding down the Shift) - this color will be removed during tracing.

When previewing trace results, there is an option Wireframe Overlay- displaying a wireframe view of the tracing results on top of the original bitmap. To control the visibility of the original bitmap below the wireframe, use the slider Transparency.

Tracing (vectorization) manually

The most optimal in terms of the quality of the result is the manual vectorization method. The main advantage of this method is the active use of the experience of the designer, who, as he works, not only decides which details of the image are important and which are not so important, but also structures the image, building objects in such a way that it is more convenient to work with them. The work can be carried out in three stages.

• At the first stage, the bitmap is scaled to a size convenient for subsequent work. If the image is monochrome, it is advisable at this stage to change the color of its stroke by selecting the imported image with the tool Pick (Choice) and by right-clicking on a sample of the on-screen palette of a soft light color (against the background of such an image, constructed vector objects will not be visually lost). At the end of the first stage, it is recommended to use the command Arrange (Editing) | Lock Object to avoid accidental damage or displacement of the point object.
• At the second stage, the instrument Bezier (Bezier Curve) Closed curves are built over the blocked bitmap. Lastly, non-closed curves are built and grouped (unless, of course, there are such on the image). In parallel with the construction of curves, it makes sense to arrange the arrangement of newly constructed objects in a stack and group or connect objects that are subsequently supposed to be painted in the same colors. If at the same time meaningful names are given to individual objects and groups, then this will simplify the last (third) stage of vectorization.
• At the third stage, fill colors are assigned to previously constructed objects, as well as contour line parameters (or stroke cancellation). Upon completion of this stage, you will have a fully functional CorelDRAW vector image at your disposal, which can, for example, be modified using the effects described in previous chapters - build shadows, apply lenses to the image as a whole or its individual parts, adjust gradient fills or transparency.

Example 6.2. Manual tracing of the logo

In this example, we are vectorizing a hand-scanned logo. For work, we will use a scanned logo of the well-known company Coca Cola (Fig. 6.5).

The need for tracing follows from the fact that the original raster image has a small size and becomes jagged when scaled (Fig. 6.6). Therefore, it is impossible to cut out a similar inscription for street advertising from such an original from a self-adhesive vinyl film.

Another problem is that automatic vectorization is not perfect. If our logo is traced by the command Quick Trace, and then prepare this image for the cutter, that is, remove the fill (Fig. 6.7) and give a stroke with a thin line (Fig. 6.8), then we will see the following (Fig. 6.9).

You can see from this illustration that the outline of the logo's letters is a bit jagged. The fact that the contours of the logo are broken is especially clearly seen when it is enlarged (Fig. 6.10).

The appearance of an uneven edge is associated with the features of automatic vectorization. The way out of this situation is to manually vectorize the logo. Let's correct the situation and draw this logo using Bezier curves. We will do the work in several stages.

1. Initially, you need to create a new layer and lock the bottom layer with the logo so that you don’t accidentally select it and move it. The bottom layer will be the stencil that we will draw (outline) on the top layer. In other words, we execute the command Tools | Object Manager and press the button New Layer (Create a layer)- rice. 6.11. In this picture, the layer Layer 1 blocked by the team Lock Object, called from the right-click context menu.