Can PS or AI "vectorize" a process (photo) image?

WF
Posted By
Warren Forsk
Apr 7, 2004
Views
558
Replies
4
Status
Closed
Is there a tool in either Photoshop or (more likely) Illustrator that can extrapolate (or "guess") vector coordinates based on process data?

Say you have a high resolution, high contrast, black on white image of a logo… or even a photograph of an apple that has been tweaked in Photoshop to be virtually black & white, no gray… could AI concievably differentiate the black pixels from the white, and from there, trace an outline that would be slightly "rounded" (to compensate for any pixelation jaggedness) – and thusly, actually "vectorize" a process image?

This would be SO useful. But is it just wishful thinking?

Thanks!
Related Tags
image process

Master Retouching Hair

Learn how to rescue details, remove flyaways, add volume, and enhance the definition of hair in any photo. We break down every tool and technique in Photoshop to get picture-perfect hair, every time.

WF
Warren Forsk
Apr 7, 2004
The reason I’m asking is because I hand-drew a stylized apple and would love to have this in vector (infinitely stretchable) form.

(Should the exact purpose of the question influence any potential replies)

"Warren Forsk" wrote in message
Is there a tool in either Photoshop or (more likely) Illustrator that can extrapolate (or "guess") vector coordinates based on process data?
Say you have a high resolution, high contrast, black on white image of a logo… or even a photograph of an apple that has been tweaked in
Photoshop
to be virtually black & white, no gray… could AI concievably
differentiate
the black pixels from the white, and from there, trace an outline that
would
be slightly "rounded" (to compensate for any pixelation jaggedness) – and thusly, actually "vectorize" a process image?

This would be SO useful. But is it just wishful thinking?
Thanks!

S
steggy
Apr 7, 2004
Warren Forsk wrote:
Is there a tool in either Photoshop or (more likely) Illustrator that can extrapolate (or "guess") vector coordinates based on process data?
Say you have a high resolution, high contrast, black on white image of a logo… or even a photograph of an apple that has been tweaked in Photoshop to be virtually black & white, no gray… could AI concievably differentiate the black pixels from the white, and from there, trace an outline that would be slightly "rounded" (to compensate for any pixelation jaggedness) – and thusly, actually "vectorize" a process image?

This would be SO useful. But is it just wishful thinking?
Thanks!

That is the old wish of many Warren.

There is Adobe Streamline, that can vectorize bitmaps and such. There is the Auto Trace tool in Illustrator, but that does not do much for me. Flash I have heard does a decent job, no experience.

As far as I am concerned: I would redraw it with the pen tool in Illustrator or in Photoshop. You need to get the experience in Illustrator making curved (Bezier) lines, not that extremely hard, but you need to do it often. That is one of the beauties of Illy.

—
steg
WF
Warren Forsk
Apr 7, 2004
The reason I don’t like retracing hand-drawn logos is that there is never enough anchor points to make it really look soft and fluid in high resolution.

If I trace something with the pen tool, can I tell AI to "smooth" what I just traced, so the anchor points aren’t as obvious? For example, if I trace an "8" with about a dozen anchor points. Is there a "rounding" option I can use afterwards?

"steggy" wrote in message
As far as I am concerned: I would redraw it with the pen tool in Illustrator or in Photoshop. You need to get the experience in Illustrator making curved (Bezier) lines, not that extremely hard, but you need to do it often. That is one of the beauties of Illy.
O
OuTpaTienT
Apr 22, 2004
On Wed, 7 Apr 2004 10:33:40 -0400
in alt.graphics.photoshop
"Warren Forsk" muttered something like
this:

The reason I don’t like retracing hand-drawn logos is that there is never enough anchor points to make it really look soft and fluid in high resolution.

If I trace something with the pen tool, can I tell AI to "smooth" what I just traced, so the anchor points aren’t as obvious? For example, if I trace an "8" with about a dozen anchor points. Is there a "rounding" option I can use afterwards?

Anchor points aren’t visible. If your lines aren’t transitioning smoothly then you’re not doing it correctly. You should be able to make an "S" shape using only 3 anchor points or using 50 anchor points and the two should look identicle.

—
OuTpaTienT / outpatient°AT°rocketmail°DOT°com
http://www.0utpatient.com
http://www.oeyec.com

"steggy" wrote in message
As far as I am concerned: I would redraw it with the pen tool in Illustrator or in Photoshop. You need to get the experience in Illustrator making curved (Bezier) lines, not that extremely hard, but you need to do it often. That is one of the beauties of Illy.

Master Retouching Hair

Learn how to rescue details, remove flyaways, add volume, and enhance the definition of hair in any photo. We break down every tool and technique in Photoshop to get picture-perfect hair, every time.

Related Discussion Topics

Nice and short text about related topics in discussion sections