How to Sharpen a Pen Line Vector
In art, the term "inking" means having a well-defined art line. Sharpening a pen line vector for inking consists in making the edges of a line appear clearer. A sharpened pen line vector looks more professional because it looks smoother, solid and contrasted. This is important if you want to rescale your vector to print posters, for instance. Each graphic program has its own way of doing this. Magic Sharpener is a plugin that you add to Adobe Photoshop and other graphic editors to reduce the pixels or noise on your vectors. The "Sharpen" tool in Photoshop increases contrast between pixels; the High Pass filter is more effective because it sharpens only the edges of an image. In Inkscape, the "Bezier" tool allows you to redraw clearer lines.
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Instructions
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Adobe Photoshop
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Press "Ctrl + J" to make a duplicate of your vector.
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Click the drop-down menu under the "Layer" tab. Choose "Overlay" to select the lines and not the background.
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Go to "Filter," "Other" and choose "High Pass." Move the slider bar to increase the "Radius."
Adobe Illustrator
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Download and run the Magic Sharpener's set up file. Click "OK."
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Open Adobe Photoshop. Go to "File, "Import" and chose the vector you want to sharpen. Click "Open." Go to "Filter," "Image Skill" and choose "Magic Sharpener."
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Set the "Radius," the "Edge Sharpness" and the "Line Contrast." Change "Brush Properties" for local changes.
Inkscape
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Open your vector in the free program Inkscape. Go to "File," "Import" and chose your vector. Click "Open."
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Go to "Bezier" tool and trace over the lines of your vector.
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Go to "Path,""Stroke to Path" and edit the nodes to sharpen the lines.
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Tips & Warnings
To sharpen vectors does not mean having all the lines the same width. Make sure your graphic editor does not make all your lines look the same.
Some graphic editors have different ways of sharpening the lines; try what works best for design.
Do not over-sharpen or your vector might look unnatural.
In Photoshop, do not set the Radius of the "High Pass" too high or you will start seeing a halo effect around the edges of your vector.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Dynamic Graphics/Dynamic Graphics Group/Getty Images
