PDA

View Full Version : something for the pros: converting raster images to vector


Requius
June 24th, 2005, 09:33 AM
Hi there,

Surely someone out there must've encountered the problem that I'm faced with, and if so I'm most interested in hearing your take on it.

Alright, so I'm using a PC with a Cintiq 18sx and Painter 8 to create line art
(and possibly color) for comics. I am attempting to emulate lines
that are comparable to the fineness and integrity of rapidographs, preferably
as fine as the turquoise 0.13.

From Adi Granov, I hear that the comic industry standard is 2800 x 4200
pixel resolution for, of course, print. Now at that res such detail is achieveable. However, I also seek to post my images/pages at the end print size which is 6" x 9" at 100 pixels per inch so that viewers can see them on their monitor at a real life size or at least at the traditional original size of
10" x 15" at 100ppi.

Because I'm using a brush size of 1 pixel (scratchboard tool) at 280ppi,
those detailed lines fade into grey, if not entirely wipe out, when reduced.
After much investigation, I realize the problem is inherent to raster images and there is no way that I can meet demanding industry deadlines while creating paths in Illustrator CS (such as Brian Denham) and satisfy my own aesthetic desires. But determined and desperate, I dove into Illustrator anyway and discovered the AutoTrace feature that vectorizes pixel based images.
Soon after, I read somewhere that it's inferior to Adobe Streamline 4.0. Though I cannot help but to wonder if there is indeed something superior, program or method, than Streamline which was released in 1997, eh?

So to you discerning professionals and students, how do you deal with such raster distortion?

Thanx, the internet is my art school :)

Steven

Requius
June 24th, 2005, 10:29 AM
So I just read a review of Illustrator CS2 that spotlighted its new Live Trace feature which was described as an implementation of Streamline.

Has anyone used this?

I presume that because it's Adobe 's latest release it's the most powerful and precise automated function of its kind that's currently available.
Though I am always on the lookout for an efficient yet quality technique that will buttress my method; something that may bridge the software gap between
sloppy concept painting and sterile illustration.

dbclemons
June 25th, 2005, 11:07 PM
I've not upgraded to CS yet, so I can't accurately compare it for you, but from what I seen demoed it works much the same way Streamline did with a few new added settings like blurring and path controls which are nice. Painter's conversion tool (Convert to Shape) does a decent job if you've got a good black and white image. Another good conversion tool is Flash which has a few more options, but less than Streamline. Personally, I don't think you're going to see even CS speed you up much. It will likely still require much tweaking. If your line art is nice and clean at the start, that will help the most. Single pixel lines are going to be a problem. That's been my experience.

-David

Ben Her
June 29th, 2005, 10:53 AM
Illustrator CS2 seems to be lacking the "trapping" settings present from programs like Silhouette. Streamline seemed to be superior. There is always "autotrace" if you are desperate and can work with SVG... Autotrace has it's own drawbacks, but you can always play around with the web interface.

Illustrator CS2 is a disappointing steaming pile of crap if you ask me. Everything seems to take twice as long and the new features have hardly proven worth the upgrade. Yeah, I was suckered by the promises of a built-in vector conversion tool.

L. Scott Knight
June 29th, 2005, 01:51 PM
Are there standalone Raster to Vector tools out there?

stark3d
June 29th, 2005, 09:22 PM
scan 2 cad but try before you buy
http://www.softcover.com
279.00 not bad I found it slow and alot of clean up work sometime
but for logos it is great
I use it for architecture scanning blueprints to autocad drawings :teeth: