How To Turn Drawings Into Vectors In Illustrator

(Updated July ii, 2020)

Blueprint technology has grown in leaps and premises in recent years. Everything now is a single click of the mouse button away. However, this will never take away the value of traditional art.

Often the best work a designer can do is notwithstanding with good old-fashioned pen and paper. No matter how talented a sketch artist you are though, chances are your piece of work will demand to be digitized sooner or later. Your strokes of genius can still be put to use. Yeah, even in a fourth dimension where blueprint projects are predominantly made through digital means.

As a design professional person, knowing how to convert images and drawings to vectors in Illustrator will definitely come in handy. This allows you lot to improve your work further or even collaborate with your client or colleagues.

But what'southward so special nigh vectors anyway?

Well, for starters, vectors are created through connecting points. Information technology uses this mathematical relationship instead of pixels, making images easier to scale. This yields better image quality than its counterpart, raster images. Vectors are abrupt and web friendlier.

It does take quite a bit of time to acquire it. That's why we are walking you through the eight super simple stamps to convert handwritten art into vector graphics.

If you lot're a little bit shaky on the process, never fear – DesignCrowd has your dorsum.

Pace 1 – Draw your design

Create a drawing or dig your sketchbook for work that you lot want to convert into vector graphics. Y'all can practise turning a drawing into a vector with even the simplest illustrations. For this example, we are going to use a detailed drawing washed by designer Divya Abe during this walkthrough.

Whatever work yous volition cull has to be scanned. The drawing should exist easy to choice up past Illustrator. This ways that it is best to choose a drawing that has defined and dark lines instead of 1 that is drawn with light-handed strokes of a pencil.

Pro tip: Think about colour too.

If yous are using more i color make sure it's stiff then the scanner or photograph tin can choice it up. It's easier to employ a colored marker rather than a pencil.

Step 2 – Digitize your design

Either scan your sketch to the highest quality or have a high-resolution photo. Designers recommend scanning for better results. Keep in heed that a bigger and improve file will assist give you more detailed results.

No thing what option you cull to go with, make sure to tweak your settings to create a high dissimilarity upshot. If your drawing is black and white , you can also use the monotone color setting to better your image further.

Stride 3 – Clean up your design

Now it'southward time to get close and personal with your cartoon. The third pace is to clean upwards unnecessary details on Photoshop. Say goodbye to the pencil sketch markings that yous have forgotten to erase.

To practise this, just use the eraser tool on the editor. The more than you clean it now, the ameliorate Illustrator will exist able to trace information technology. At present, you might be thinking that this is a bit of an overkill, but this step volition lessen the adjustments y'all will make afterwards.

Step iv – Accommodate and salve your blueprint

A stronger image equals a stronger trace. The example image has more grey tones than black, but there are numerous means to change the image to black and white. You can try playing with adjustment layer tools such as levels (cmd L on Macs, or ctrl Fifty on Windows) and curves (cmd M or ctrl M).

Do you want lighter or harsher tones? Now is a practiced time to make up one's mind on how y'all desire to correct the design's color. Once you're confident you lot've gotten it just right, save the image as a jpeg file.

Step 5 – Trace your design

Open up Illustrator CS6 and create a blank certificate. Go to the File card in the height left corner and select Place to insert your jpeg onto the file.

Select the image and become to Window>Epitome Trace. The Image Trace tool should at present popular up.

Step six – Play with the presets

Making sure the preview function is selected, click on the preset menu in Paradigm Trace. Simply scroll through the options until you observe the one you like all-time.

If the trace doesn't choice upwards your cartoon instantly you can play around with preset and threshold until yous find a solution that works. It's okay to take control of your masterpiece.

Pace 7 – Convert your trace into paths

At present that your cartoon has been traced, go to the top toolbar and select Expand. Your trace will exist automatically converted into paths.

You don't need to spend hours upon hours trying to connect the dots in your analogy.

Step 8 – Play with your shiny new vector

The amount of detail in your original drawing will make up one's mind how many ballast points yous get for your vector. This is how designers get crisp graphics for their projects.

Like this drawing, yous tin add colors to the editor of your choice and requite the design more life. You can use this on impress marketing collaterals, animation, web design , and more than.

If you're creating a logo or part of a pattern you lot are sharing with others, it's probably all-time to clean it up now. If it'south your ain work, and you are happy with the way it looks after all your difficult piece of work in Photoshop earlier, then you are finally off to change this blueprint upwards withal y'all want.

Looking for another way?

As an alternative, you can use another to establish in Illustrator called the Pen tool.

Y'all tin access information technology on the toolbar and outset manually tracing your drawing. This volition give you lot fifty-fifty more than command on the path of your vector equally opposed to the Prototype Trace method. To close the path, you tin can press the Esc key on your keyboard.

Congratulations – your hand cartoon is officially a vector!

Did you lot find this tutorial helpful? Or do y'all know a better way to do it? What else would you like to learn more about? Tell united states in the comments!

Want More?

DesignCrowd is always ready to assistance out new designers. For more than tutorials and design insights, check out these manufactures:

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• Our Summit x Costless Stock Image Sites for Designers

Divya Abe is an proficient graphic designer ready to share her knowledge with the crowd. Besides spending quality time on the net she enjoys anything to do with cats. Make it touch via Google+.

Source: https://blog.designcrowd.com/article/635/8-simple-steps-to-convert-hand-drawings-into-vectors

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