How to Vectorize a Photograph
There are many graphics programs that can take a photograph and turn the image into vector art. Photos are vectorized to create interesting pieces of art. The most common program is Adobe Illustrator, which converts the bitmap image by breaking down the photo's areas of color into shapes that are defined by points and connected by lines filled with color. The points, lines and fill can be manipulated. Vector images retain their crisp appearance when enlarged unlike bitmaps that blur when they are enlarged.
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Things You'll Need
- Computer
- Adobe Illustrator CS2 or higher
- Photograph you want converted into vector art
Instructions
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Converting a Photo
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Create a new page in Illustrator and place the photo that you want to vectorize in the center of the page by clicking on the "File" tab at the top of the screen and selecting "Place." The Place dialog box will appear. Scroll for the photo you want to use and click on it, then hit "Place." If the photo is too large to fit in the page reduce the size by using the Select tool, which looks like a black arrow. Holding down the "Shift" key grab a corner of the photo and pull the corner into the center of the photo until you have a size that fits into the page.
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Select the photo and then select the "Object" tab at the top of the screen. From the pull down menu select "Live Trace" then "Tracing Options."
In the "Tracing Options" dialog box "Preset" select "Color 6" and hit "Trace." The file will be converted into 6 colors. This may take a few minutes.
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If you like the results, select the photo and then select the "Object" tab, then "Live Trace," then "Expand." This will select all the shapes the program has created, which will highlight them in blue. With the vectorized photo selected choose the the "Object" tab then "Ungroup." You are now able to edit individual parts of the converted photo. You can delete the background, change the color of selected areas and move and change selected shapes.
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Experiment with the vectorized photo. Also repeat the process from the beginning and try different presets. You can also leave the preset on default and select the number of colors you want, up to 265 colors. The more colors you choose the more complex the file will be. Use the least amount of colors for the results that you want.
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Try making the photo black and white by selecting "Pre-set" then "Grayscale" in the Tracing Options dialog box. To ensure that the photo will have contrast select 36 in the "Max Colors" setting. After you have applied the filter select the photo then select the "Object" tab, then "Live Trace" then "Expand."
Keep on experimenting to create new works of art.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit Art photo navire image by Daoud from Fotolia.com
