Tracing Images in Illustrator

This tutorial will show you how to use LiveTrace in Illustrator to trace a piece of black and white clipart.  This will turn the clipart into a vector image which can easily re-scaled or editted.

1.  Open a new canvas in Illustrator.  I made mine 3600 x 3600 because that will be the size of my final image.

2.  Paste your clipart onto the canvas.

3.  Go to Object > Live Trace > Make.  This will trace the object with the default settings.

Or you can select Live Trace from the toolbar.

4.  Once the object has been traced, the trace menu will be available.  Select the Black and White Logo preset for a better trace.  Or you can go under the Edit menu and select Tracing Presets to change the preset.

5.  Re-scale the image easily by changing the values for Width and Height.  The image will scale without blurriness as the trace is a vector.  I copied the enlarged image and pasted it into Photoshop.

6.  Optional.  Expand the trace with the Expand button if you wish to use the pen tool to modify the vector or if you want to divide the vector into smaller components.

Once the trace has been expanded, the pen tool can be used to move anchors.

Swirls

This tutorial will show you how to make swirls using Illustrator and then transfer the swirls to Photoshop.


1. Open a new canvas in Illustrator.

2.  Select the spiral tool by left-clicking on the Line Segment Tool (\), holding the mouse button down for a few seconds until the menu expands and then selecting the spiral tool.

3.  Click anywhere on the canvas.  This will cause the spiral tool menu to appear.

4.  The spiral tool menu has four options.  I have drawn a diagram that shows that happens when you increase or decrease radius, decay and segments.

5.  Select the options for your swirl and then click ok.  A swirl will appear on your canvas.  Make as many swirls as you like.

6.  If you make more than one swirl, then use the Selection Tool (V) to select them all.

7.  Once the swirl objects are selected, the tool bar will show options for changing the fill color, outline color, stroke width or opacity.  You can also apply a brush style or graphic style.  I've made a diagram of the different settings in the tool bar depending on whether you have a single object selected or multiple objects selected.  If you only make a single swirl, then you do not need to use the Selection Tool to select it.  The toolbar at the top of the workspace will show the options for the Single Object.

8.  Click the arrow next to the brush style. It will produce the brush style menu and you can then select one of the available brush styles.  The style will be applied to all selected objects.  I've applied the tapered stroke which comes with Illustrator CS3.

9.  To take the finished swirl into Photoshop, select the object, then Edit > Copy (Ctrl + C) to copy.

10.  Go to Photoshop and open a canvas (if one is not already open), then Edit > Paste (Ctrl + V) to paste.  A menu will appear asking you how you want to paste the object.

11.  I pasted the swirl as a smart object.  The swirl can now be converted to a brush or used as-is.

Drizzled Icing on Gingerbread Cookies

I was asked to share how I made my latest gingerbread cookie alpha.  In particular people seem to be interested in how I made my drizzled icing.  I made a font as it was easier to use a font than to re-size 62 images (one for each letter).  However, I will show you how I made the letters.  This tutorial requires that you have Adobe Illustrator.

Supplies:

Ginger Cookie SBP Preset

Icing Letters
1.  In Illustrator, open a new, blank document.  I made my document 300 x 300 pixels at 300 dpi.

2.  Use the Type Tool and type a letter.

3.  Select the Scribble effect (Effect > Stylize > Scribble).  I had a hard time finding the effect in the menu, so I have included a screenshot of its exact location.

4.  Apply the Scribble effect to turn the font into wavy lines.  The settings will be different depending on the size of your letter.

Angle = 30
Path Overlap = 0 px
Stroke Width = 10 px
Curviness = 50
Spacing = 35 px

5.  Convert the text to a path (Shift + Ctrl + O).

6.  Use the Direct Selection Tool to manipulate the nodes on the vector path so the future frosting will be on the cookie.  Remove large gaps between wavy lines.

After node manipulation:

7.  Export the image as a PNG.

Cookie

1. Open a new image in Photoshop.  I made mine 300 x 300 at 300 dpi.  I called mine A.

2.  Use the text tool and write out a letter in your chosen font.  Use the same font that was used to make the icing.  Move it to the center of the canvas.

3.  Load the transparency for the layer (Select > Load Selection).

4.  Make a new layer (Shift + Ctrl + N).  I called mine Cookie.

5.  Expand the selection by 5 (Select > Modify > Expand).

 

6.  Smooth the selection by 10 (Select > Modify > Smooth).

7.  Fill the selection with white (Shift + F5).

8.  Apply the Super Blade Pro Preset ginger-cookie.q5q.  This preset is based on the food presets at Planet Preset.

9.  Apply the Inner Glow effect to make the cookie look burnt along the edges.

Blend mode = Multiply
Opacity = 75
Noise= 0
Color = #6f3202
Technique = Precise
Source = Edge
Choke = 10
Size = 21
Anti-aliased = Checked
Range = 50
Jitter = 0

10.  Optional.  If the cookie is too dark for you taste, add an Adjustment Layer (Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Brightness/Contrast).

11.  Optional. Increase the Brightness by 61.

12.  Open the icing letter made in Illustrator.  Re-size if necessary and paste it onto the cookie canvas.

13.  Load the transparency for the icing layer.

14.  Expand the selection by 2.

15.  Fill the selection with white (Shift + F5).

16.  Add a drop shadow and an inner glow using layer styles.

Drop Shadow
Blend mode = Multiply
Opacity = 80
Angle = 120
Use Global Light = Checked
Distance = 1
Spread = 10
Size = 1
Anti-aliased = Unchecked
Noise = 0
Layer Knocks Out Drop Shadow = Checked

Inner Glow
Blend mode = Multiply
Opacity = 75
Noise = 0
Color = #d8e6ff
Technique = Softer
Source = Edge
Choke = 0
Size = 5
Anti-aliased = Unchecked
Range = 50
Jitter = 0

16.  Apply the Bevel plugin from Eye Candy 5: Impact.

Basic
Bevel Width = 34.41
Bevel Height = 27
Smoothness = 100.00
Round Corners = 0
Bevel Placement = Inside Selection
Darken Deep Areas = 0
Shade Interior = Checked
Surface = None

Lighting
Direction = 94
Inclination = 74
Highlight Brightness = 80
Highlight Size = 25
Highlight Color = White
Shadow Color = #404040

Bevel Profile = Button

The basic drizzled icing on a gingerbread cookie is now complete.  Sprinkles can be added if further decoration is desired.