With a Trace

Live Trace was introduced wih the release of Adobe Illustrator CS2. There was a tracing tool in earlier versions, but it usually led to disappointment. The tracing results achieved with Live Trace are a vast improvement. (Like upgrading from an abacus to a computer.)

With Live Trace you can automatically trace around the areas of color and shade of any raster image. Since it is "live," you can also adjust the results before converting it to vector points and paths. What kind of raster graphics can you trace? Pretty much whatever strikes your fancy: Photoshop PSD, EPS, TIFF, JPEG, or scanned images.

You can either open a raster image directly into Illustrator, or you can place it within an existing file. (File>Place). I have learned from painful experience that if you choose to Place the image, you should uncheck the "Link" box at the bottom of the Place window. Linked images have a tendency to get separated from the the Illustrator file. Trying to open an Illustrator file after a linked file has been moved or lost opens the dreaded gray box. (This is a warning box with a big exclamation mark that is constantly berating me for trying to do something that can't be done.) The box indicates that Illustrator "could not find the linked file." It gives you three choices: Replace, Ignore, or Cancel. If you haven't totally lost the image, you can choose replace and go browsing for it. If you have already traced the image, you don't need it anymore and can choose ignore. If you decide that you would rather go watch an old Leave it to Beaver episode, choose cancel. I hate the gray box's constant nagging, so I avoid the entire conflict by not linking.

Here are the basic steps for tracing an image:

Open or Place the file in Illustrator.

Select the image. Illustrator is very intuitive and by virtue of you selecting the raster image, it knows that you having a tracing extravaganza in mind and obligingly provides all the tracing buttons in the options bar.

Next you can click Trace, use a preset, set your own tracing options, or find a new picture.

• The Trace button gives you the default settings. This performs well with some images, and poorly with others. If yours falls into that 2nd category, simply choose Edit>Undo and try the next option.


• Click the small black triangle next to the trace button. This gives you a menu with a variety of preset tracing options. Try some out.


• Choose tracing options from the bottom of the menu if you don't like the presets. The tracing options box may give you more options than you want--it's very complex. Check the preview box before you start changing settings. Be warned, it is a slow process, especially with large files. Every time you make an adjustment, Illustrator reworks the tracing.


• Finally, if you still are unhappy with your results, it is time to accept the fact that your image simply isn't a good candidate for tracing. This happens quite often for me. Usually images that have low contrast or too much detail don't get good results.

If you do hit upon that magic combination for an ideal tracing, click Trace. Then click the Expand button on the options bar. Your raster graphic is transformed into a vector image (with about eleventy-million paths and anchors.) You can edit the image to your heart's content, or if you prefer, use Live Paint on it. (We'll save Live Paint for another posting.)

I used the default settings to create the dog logo for my pretend record company. This was the original image. As you see, I didn't use the entire dog for my logo. After I traced and expanded the image, I did a lot of clean-up work. I deleted a ton of anchor points and adjusted and repositioned some points. My final result doesn't look much like the original, but, with my drawing skills, had I drawn him from scratch, he wouldn't look much like a dog.

You might also notice that my dog is black and white. That is because I used the default Trace. You can get some interesting effects, though, by using the color option mode. But, alas, that too is for another day.

Would you like to see LiveTrace in action? Watch the tutorial below from tutvid.com.

Me And My Shadow

As promised, here are some of the 3d vases created by my Monday night class. You may notice that J. Cronin's vase is decorated with bunnies. And if you read my last blog, you might recall that a recent quiz in the class involved drawing animals and turning them into symbols. Mr. Cronin took full advantage of the symbols palette by using the symbol that he had created for the quiz. Looks to me as if the blue bunny is planning an escape. Actually, the falling over aspect of some of the vases is my fault. The assignment specified that one vase should be rotated. Most of the students felt that was offensive to their design and chose to ignore those instructions.

Several students complained bitterly about the drop shadow that I requested also. I was trying to save them time and trouble and asked that they apply a simple drop shadow (Effect>Stylize>Drop Shadow.) They pointed out, rightly, that it didn't look very natural. A few students drew their own shadow. They then lowered its opacity, skewed it, and sent it behind the vase. I love it when students think outside the box (or in this case-outside the vase.) This worked very nicely, but they asked me if there was an easier way.

My first impulse was to use a built-in Graphic Style called Shadow Back that comes with Illustrator CS2. I use it occasionally when I am in a hurry and want an object to throw a quick shadow. You can find this style by opening the options menu in the Graphic Styles palette.(Click the little circle button at the top right of the palette). From the menu choose "Open graphic style library" and from the list choose "Image Effects." The style is on the bottom row of the palette.

I tried using this and, as I feared, it failed to do the trick. I knew that since 3d is an effect, the vase is not really vase-shaped, but actually just a half a vase. Here was the result. The drop shadow worked, but, I lost my pretty 3d effect. Pretty much what I expected--ah, but hope springs eternal! Back to the drawing board. After some thought, I decided that I could Expand my vase so that it was no longer simply an effect. Expanding breaks an effect down to about a kajillion paths and points. Once you Expand an object, there is no going back, so make sure you love your vase before you begin. To expand the vase, select it, and choose Object>Expand Appearance. Your object is now truly vase shaped. Keep it selected and click on the Shadow Back style in the graphic styles palette.

I wasn't totally happy with the graphic style--I thought it was a little too dark and overly-defined. Once you have applied a graphic style, though, you can always fix it up a bit in the Appearance Palette. The 2nd fill in the palette is the shadow. (see palette below.) I selected it, played with the gradient a little bit, added a gaussian blur, and lowered its opacity. I also thought the skewing of the shadow was a bit off, so I double-clicked on Free Distort and adjusted it also. Finally, after all that work, I saved my edited version of the back shadow in the Graphic Styles palette. Who knows, I may want to use it again some day. I am still not in love with the shadow, but I am certainly tired of it.

How would you create a drop shadow for a 3d object in Illustrator? Can anyone give me a new and innovative way that I haven't considered?

If you are new to Illustrator and are interested in learning how to create a drop shadow from scratch, check out this Biorust tutorial.

Let's Get Quizzical

Using Illustrator is not like riding a bicycle. If you learn how to use a new tool and then don't use it for a while, chances are, you will forget all about it. Months later you will want to do something special with an image and may vaguely recall that there is a great technique that would be perfect, but you can't quite dredge it up.

When my Illustrator class meets twice a week in the morning, I provide my students with a daily hands-on quiz. I started this several years ago to combat late arrivals. The quiz begins promptly at 10:00 and if they aren't in their seats, they receive a zero for the day. This isn't as harsh as it sounds. During the quiz, I let students use the help menu, the book, friendly neighbors, and if they ask nicely, I tell them what to do. It's an easy A. The only requirement for a 100% grade is punctuality. This is very effective in getting the class rolling on time, and it helps students retain what they are learning. The quizzes always cover the material from the previous class. Students are always surprised to discover how much they can forget in two day's time.

I use the completed quiz here on the day after we learn how to make symbols. In addition to knowing how to use the Symbols Tools, students must also draw on their knowledge of the zoom tool, drawing tools, and applying effects to complete the quiz successfully. Not surprisingly, the most common creatures that students choose to draw for this quiz are snakes and worms. Of course, there are also those wonderful students who are up to the challenge and throw in every Illustrator skill they have to create their symbols.

Once students have completed the course, it is wise for them to keep their text and notes nearby. I would also recommend a good desk reference book to keep on hand--there are lots of great ones available. My favortite book for reference is Illustrator Bible, Wiley Publishing, Inc. Finally, the Illustrator Help menu is easy to use and is great for those times when your brain locks up and you just can remember how to use that darned tool or palette. Adobe offers some excellent tutorials for Illustrator users.