How to vectorize an image in Adobe Illustrator
Raster images consist of individual pixels and have huge amounts of detail. But, you cannot expand them without losing quality.
Vector images are made of lines and forms. They are usually less detailed however you can create them as large as you want without sacrificing any detail.
If you have an image that’s too small to meet your requirements The answer is to transform it to a vector. you can do it in Adobe Illustrator. It’s an easy and fast procedure that produces great results. This tutorial will help you convert an image into vectors using Adobe Illustrator.
What is a Vector Image?
Vector images is an image that can be scaled and is composed of values, rather than pixels.
The majority of images online are images that are raster images. These images employ the square pixels (bits of color) to show the image. Vector graphics transmit color by with the help of polygons that can be scalable in color. Because vector graphics utilize dynamic color sections rather than stationary squares, they can provide sharp lines and vibrant colors.
The geometry which comprises vector images is formulaic, making them resolution-independent. This means that images won’t diminish in quality when scaled down or up because the color polygons of an image that is vector will retain their form. It’s not the same for images that are rasterized, as the information about color in the images is stretched when the image is scaled.
It is easy to discern the distinction between these two kinds of images by their file formats. Images with raster are commonly used types such as JPG and GIF Vector images usually in the SVG or EPS format. AI format.
If you understand how to convert the JPG file into vectors within Adobe Illustrator, you’ll be in a position to scale whatever you see to whatever size you’d like without a loss of image quality. Let’s begin making an image vector.
Step 1: Select an image you want to convert to Vector
The image you choose to use will not have any bearing on the procedure, besides the fact that bigger images can take longer to edit. There are certain images, however, that are more effective as vector images than others.
It is better to alter a single object rather than a landscape or the similar one. It is recommended that the photo be a clear or translucent background and be of a low resolution. It should be formatted in the form of JPG, GIF, or PNG.
We’ll be using the photo from Ryu of the Street Fighter series above. This is a fantastic model for a number of reasons. First, it’s one subject. It can also be used as the vector image format because it’s a well-known image. Vector image formats are commonly used to create icons, logos, or other easily recognized images.
Step 2: Choose the Image Trace preset
Illustrator comes with a tool that lets you create vector images. It’s known as Image Trace and it comes with a selection of presets that can do the majority of the work for you automatically.
In general, generally speaking, you should select generally speaking, you should select the Image Trace preset that most closely matches the type of image you’re trying to convert because each has its own outcomes.
There are a variety of options:
- High-Definition Photo as well as low-fidelity Photo. These create extremely detailed but slightly less vectors. They’re perfect for photos or artwork that is complex such as the illustration image that we’ve used.
- Three Colors, 6 Colors as well as 16 color options. These preset generate vector images using three, six, and 16 hues. They are ideal for logos and images that contain a variety of colors that are flat.
- shades of Grey. This preset generates a clear grayscale image.
- Black white Logo. The logo is simple using two colors namely white and black.
- Sketched Art, Silhouettes, Line Art as well as technical drawing. They are ideal to create specific kinds of images. They are also used to create mostly black and white lines-based drawings.
To begin start, open the image within Illustrator and then click on it to enable the options for your image. The options you want to use should be visible in the middle of the Illustrator window.
Use the drop-down button below Picture Trace to choose the preset. We’ll use Low Fidelity photos. Click it to start tracing.
Step 3. Vectorize the Image Using Image Trace
When you click this button, your picture will be processed through the tracing process on its own. There will be a variety of variations to your picture, however, overall it will remain nearly the same. For instance, the image below is a close-up of our image prior to tracing.
Take note of the blurring. This is the result of the process:
While a significant amount of details have been removed from the original image the image that has been traced appears sharper. It is evident that the colors don’t blur, no matter how far to zoom.
When zoomed out, the image should appear similar to the original. This is the overall image prior to editing:
Here’s the image we took after editing:
Although the top image might appear sharper in some cases the overall quality of the vectorized image we have created is quite impressive.
Step 4: Refine Your Traced Image
After you’ve traced the image, you can open your Trace panel. Trace the panel in The window menu to tweak the conversion.
Choose the Mode to toggle between grayscale, color as well as both black and white. You can also drag your color slider to the left to simplify your vector or right to add more details.
If you’re pleased with your settings but want to save them for future use then click on the Manage Presets button below the Presets tab. You’ll be able to save your settings as a brand new preset.
Step 5: Ungroup Colors
Your image is now divided into colored shapes that are a good match for the original image raster. In order to vectorize the image, you’ll have to divide these color groups and modify the colors. To do this, choose the image that you have traced and then click the Expand button at the upper right-hand corner of the window.
This allows you to look at the shapes that form this vector picture. Each shape are highlighted in blue. Then, right-click on the image, and then select Ungroup from the menu. This will let you break your color shapes down into separate pieces.
Within Your layers panels, you’ll be able to see the color group you’ve created are divided into layers.
Step 6 Edit Your Vector
When you convert a raster image into a vector image you are free to alter the image.
Begin by deleting the color groups you want. You can select all color groups by clicking the shape and selecting select > same Fill Color. This will highlight all groups using the identical color to the one that you have selected with your Direct Selection tool ( A).
After that, hit backspace using your keyboard. This will erase the designs. If you’d like to alter or extend a specific shade group of colors, you could accomplish this when you select a layer with the Direct Selection tool. Once you’ve selected the layer, you can fill in the empty spaces or add more colors to it by using either the Brush or brush tools.
Step 7: Save Your Photo
Here’s the original image after removing the white background. We also modified the image slightly by using the technique described previously.
Then we can move on to the last step to convert an image to a vector in Illustrator by saving the image in an image format that preserves its original quality. There are several images in vector formats to select from such as pdf, AI and EPS SVG, and more. We’ll be using SVG, which is the SVG format, which comes with broad acceptance across all of the design software and is also available on the web.
Once you’re done with your image, navigate to the File menu, Export, and Export as. In the next window, name your image and choose SVG from the dropdown menu that appears next to Saving as Type.
That’s it. The vector file that you scalable is now saved on your computer.
It’s easy to learn how to Vectorize an image
You now are aware of the process to convert an image into an Illustrator vector. You can then scale your new design to any size you like, without a loss of quality.
Remember that complex vector files are often larger than their counterparts with rasters. This means that they will require more time to edit and load. However, your vector image will remain in quality regardless of the size.