Can I make an image into a vectorized format?

[EvilYoda]

I'm not even sure if I'm using the correct terminology but I'm working on a business card design. I have a hand-drawn B&W character (on paper, obviously) that I can scan and I've already taken a picture of. I want to enlarge it by about 50% without losing quality so I think what I need is the character in vector format.

Is this possible? Can anyone help me? 🙂

 

[Bubbleawsome]

I think to get something as a vector you need to draw it on the PC. Scanners don't have infinite resolution, and a vector drawing is stored as mathematical points.

(This is all IIRC)

 

[EvilYoda]

That makes sense, but it's fairly simple of a drawing so I'm hoping an approximation will lead to less degradation than simply zooming in.

Maybe it isn't possible...

 

[Crono]

Scan in on high DPI, 600 at least. That will allow you to use higher resolution without loss of quality.

Otherwise to vectorize it there are online tools that do it automatically (doesn't work well for complex art , but simple handrawn black and white stuff it's pretty good). Or you can have someone professionally convert it/redraw it in Illustrator.

 

[IronWing]

Real Draw will do it. There is a free trial version. It is my very favoritest program for web graphics.

 

[EvilYoda]

Trying autotracer.org right now - it's losing some of the finer brushstrokes but I don't know how much better it could get.

Thanks for the help so far, definitely helps me figure out if it's the final design I want or not.

 

[Jeff7]

Enlarge it? For a business card?

Dang, how small did you draw it? 😀




Here's another tracer to try: Vector Magic



Or try cheating: Enlarge it to something like 1000%, fiddle with brightness and contrast a bit to try to clean it up, maybe try an unsharp mask filter, then size it to what you want.


Or download Inkscape, get a drawing tablet, and redo it from scratch. 😱

 

[EvilYoda]

Heh, I didn't draw it - I think I've gotten close enough to what I need. Guess we'll find out!

 

[manly]

Years ago there was an app called Adobe Streamline. Corel had its own app, I believe. Don't know how Streamline compares to modern stuff.