How to Make a Photograph Into a Vector in Illustrator CS4

Use Illustrator CS4 to turn a photo into a set of vector shapes by using the "Live trace" tool for automated conversion, or the "Pen" and "Eyedropper" tools for manual conversion. Beware of using the automated approach for high-resolution images, or those with many different colors. These consume considerable processing power. For such images, use an image editing program like Photoshop or GIMP to reduce the number of colors before attempting the conversion. While the manual conversion process is potentially slower, it allows you to smooth the shapes in your photos, and correct flaws in them. Automated conversion doesn't provide this benefit.

Instructions

Live Trace

1. Click the "File" menu's "Open" command, and then navigate to and double click a photo you'd like to turn into a set of vector shapes. Illustrator will load the photo for you to convert.

2. Click the small arrow to the right of the "Live trace' button above the canvas. This action displays a list of options that affect how Illustrator converts the photo to a set of vectors.

3. Click the "Color 6" item to produce vectors that use six colors. Click "Color 16" for a vector image that uses 16 colors.

4. Click "Photo high fidelity" to convert to vector shapes that use as many colors as possible. Click "Grayscale" to turn the photo into a set of vectors shaded with different values on a spectrum that runs from pure white to pure black.

5. Click "Enable" to complete the conversion of the photo to the vector shapes.

Manual Trace

1. Click the "File" menu, and then click the "Open" command. Navigate to a photo you'd like to convert to vectors, and then double click the photo to load it into Illustrator.

2. Click the eyedropper icon from the tool palette to the run "Eyedropper" tool, which samples colors from images on the canvas.

3. Click the mouse cursor on a color shape in your photo, where "color shape" is an image region with more or less the same color. For example, click the eye pupil in a portrait to sample the pupil's color.

4. Click the tool palette icon shaped like a nib pen to run the "Pen" tool, which creates vector shapes. Click a point on the outline of the color shape you sampled, and then drag to another point on the outline.

5. Click again, and then continue clicking and dragging to create points that complete trace the shape's outline. When you click the first point you clicked, the vector shape will close, and fill with the color you sampled.

6. Use the instructions from the previous three steps to create vector shapes from the remaining regions in your photo.

References

• Illustrator CS4 Bible; Ted Alspach