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Possible Duplicate:
Vectorization graphics approach

Folks, Photoshop newbie here with what I think is a simple question, but clearly, I am not searching for the right keywords on Google.

I have a hand-sketched pattern that I have scanned into a (bitmap) image. It is a crisp black and white image. I would like for a way to get Photoshop (or Illustrator) to detect the edges and extract paths from it, thereby converting it into a vector graphic.

Is there a simple way to accomplish this?

Thanks.

-Raj

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3 Answers 3

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Yes, by using the 'trace' function in Illustrator: there's a tutorial here.

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Since you're using Illustrator then use the tools built into it for doing exactly what you're doing. But if you don't have / want to use the Adobe software there are several free alternatives:

Potrace is Free (as in FOSS) vectorisation software, these days it comes as a plugin for the free vector graphics package Inkscape

The brilliant commercial / open source vector graphics package Xara is available free for Linux, it has an excellent built-in tracing tool (and it kicks illustrator's 4rse for speed and ease of use)

Other free vectorisation software includes AutoTrace and Deliniate.

Also there's a free web app called vector magic here, they sell a desktop version as well.

-stib

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I don't believe there is any way to easily/automatically "vectorize" a raster image in Photoshop or Illustrator. There does appear to be an online utility that offers two trial conversions before you have to pay, then they want $7.95/month, which is probably quite excessive for individual use.

Check out http://vectormagic.com/home -- if you're just doing one image, that should do the trick for you.

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