SKILLSET 3: Bitmap Tracing - How to Cheat in Illustrator
Learning:
Learn the following skills by observing Ms. Hammond’s demonstration, then practising by completing the activity below:
Create a new layer in your “loginname_Skills” Illustrator file. Rename this layer “Tracing and Warping.” Browse through the images in Ms. Hammond’s Shared > “Skillset3_TracingImages” folder until you find one you like OR browse Creative Commons to find an image you would like to convert into a silhouette. Make sure to choose an image that has a darker foreground (aka subject) and a lighter background – otherwise Illustrator will not be able to separate your subject from its background. You may also choose to edit your image using Photoshop to help achieve the contrast needed for your silhouette. Place your image on the “Tracing and Warping” layer. Trace (select the image on your artboard, then click the Image Trace button in your options bar) the image as either a “Silhouette” or “Black and White Logo” (click the small “down” arrow beside the Image Trace button). Adjust the settings (make sure to check the “Advanced Settings” box) until you have a smooth silhouette. Once you are happy with your result, click the “Expand” button in your options bar. You will either want to Object > Ungroup, or double-click to enter into the individual parts of your trace so that you can edit each individual path that composes your image, and delete any you don’t need (you will likely want to get rid of the background surrounding your image).
Now add some text. Choose a font that suits your image and theme, and change your font colour to something that will show up well on the black of your silhouette. Type out 5-10 words, resize and rotate them to roughly position them atop your silhouette. You may choose to Convert Text to Outlines, or Envelope Distort > Warp your text, or do a combination of both to make it fit more snugly and artfully within your silhouette.
Important Information:
Learning:
Learn the following skills by observing Ms. Hammond’s demonstration, then practising by completing the activity below:
- Tracing Bitmap Images
- Converting Text to Outlines
- Grouping, Ungrouping, and Expanding
- Adjusting Advanced Trace Options
- Envelope Distorting Text (Warping and Meshing)
Create a new layer in your “loginname_Skills” Illustrator file. Rename this layer “Tracing and Warping.” Browse through the images in Ms. Hammond’s Shared > “Skillset3_TracingImages” folder until you find one you like OR browse Creative Commons to find an image you would like to convert into a silhouette. Make sure to choose an image that has a darker foreground (aka subject) and a lighter background – otherwise Illustrator will not be able to separate your subject from its background. You may also choose to edit your image using Photoshop to help achieve the contrast needed for your silhouette. Place your image on the “Tracing and Warping” layer. Trace (select the image on your artboard, then click the Image Trace button in your options bar) the image as either a “Silhouette” or “Black and White Logo” (click the small “down” arrow beside the Image Trace button). Adjust the settings (make sure to check the “Advanced Settings” box) until you have a smooth silhouette. Once you are happy with your result, click the “Expand” button in your options bar. You will either want to Object > Ungroup, or double-click to enter into the individual parts of your trace so that you can edit each individual path that composes your image, and delete any you don’t need (you will likely want to get rid of the background surrounding your image).
Now add some text. Choose a font that suits your image and theme, and change your font colour to something that will show up well on the black of your silhouette. Type out 5-10 words, resize and rotate them to roughly position them atop your silhouette. You may choose to Convert Text to Outlines, or Envelope Distort > Warp your text, or do a combination of both to make it fit more snugly and artfully within your silhouette.
Important Information:
- Convert Text to Outlines:
- Type text, select it, then Type > Create Outlines (this breaks apart the text so that each letter may be edited separately – to do this, simply double-click the text to go inside of it and access individual letters)
- Note: Once you’ve converted Text to Outlines, you may use the Path Finder > Minus Front option to cut the shape of your letters out of the silhouette so that there is a transparent background (instead of your font colour) underneath
- Envelope Distort, Warp Text:
- Type text, select it, then Object > Envelope Distort > Make with Warp
- Select whichever options you like and adjust the settings. Make sure the “preview” box is checked so that you can see the adjustments applied to your image as you make them.
- You may use the Direct Selection tool to get inside the Warped text and adjust individual anchor points along the path
- Type text, select it, then Object > Envelope Distort > Make with Warp
- Convert Text to Outlines if already Enveloped (for warping):
- Select text, then Object > Envelope Distort > Expand > then Object > Ungroup