Skip to main content
M
MissSparkles75
Known Participant
March 11, 2020
Question

Tracing as a vector LINE ART from a scanned JPG

  • March 11, 2020
  • 2 replies
  • 3643 views

I'd like to trace my scanned black and white line artwork using the LINE ART trace option, however, every time I have used this option Illustrator doesn't seem to pick up a fair bit of the detail in my original line drawings despite me altering the Trace / Advanced options in an attempt to improve the detail.  

 

I have attached an example of my original scanned drawing and of the traced drawing and as you can see a lot of my onion is missing and my beetroot, apart from the leaves, has completely disappeared. I have also included a screengrab of the trace options that I selected.

 

It's the 'line art' tracing option I have to choose as I want to be able to turn the lines of my drawing into strokes in order to edit the strokes as I would if I had drawn the items from scratch using the draw tool in Illustrator. I don't want to have filled objects as opposed to strokes.

 

Is there anything I can do to improve the detail of my scanned line drawings when tracing as a Line Art please or is this the best I can achieve? Many thanks for any help. 

 

This topic has been closed for replies.

2 replies

Monika Gause
Community Expert
Monika GauseCommunity Expert
Community Expert
March 12, 2020

Tracing lines won't work properly with these images, because Illustrator doesn't know which lines to connect and which not to connect.

    M
    MissSparkles75Author
    Known Participant
    March 12, 2020

    Ah okay, that's a shame, surely though, the beetroot is just one joined line and that has disappeared completely in beetroot pic 3 but is almost perfect in beetroot pic 1?

     

    Is the only other option to have filled shapes instead of editable strokes? Filled shapes are a bit of a faff to edit especially as the trace option keeps all shapes (the filled lines and the inner spaces, if you edit the line shapes you have to edit the inner spaces identically if you want to be neat and this is virtually impossible).  

    D
    d0nut247
    Inspiring
    March 12, 2020

    Yes I think looking at this again now I know you want single line art (I know it was IN CAPS!) . I think the best way to get neat single lines that retain the artistic merit would be to manually redraw 'trace' in adobe iOS sketch app. Would not take long if these examples are typical of the work to be done.  

    D
    d0nut247
    Inspiring
    March 11, 2020

    have you tried using a higher res image to start with? if the one above is the actual file you're using, its probably a little small to get too much more detail from it. also the preset line art may only be able to result in single and consisten thickness lines. have you tried using black and white logo setting? with 'ignore white' checked. ?

    M
    MissSparkles75Author
    Known Participant
    March 12, 2020

    Hi, yes, I scanned my original drawing in at 600ppi and then edited the levels in Photoshop to make the black lines even stronger. And yes, have also tried the black and white logo option too but as soon as I turn off the Create > Fills and turn on the Create > Strokes all of my illustration completely disappears, I just have a blank canvas, it's like it can't pick any black information up. If I leave Create > Fills on I get all the lines of my illustration in filled shapes and not strokes and I want strokes, I love strokes,  arrggggggg!! 😆

     

    I guess I will just have to hand trace my drawings myself if I wanted editable strokes. 

    Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
    Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices