Needing help with my scanned vector lines (how to make my lines smooth and consistent thickness)

[grifolsd21111049]

I recently learned how to convert my scanned ink drawings from bitmap to vector in Inkscape with the trace to bitmap feature without losing hardly any detail like what would happen by using the image trace feature in Illustrator.

But I need help trying to figure out if there's a way of making my lines smoothed yet also  consistent thickness

I use to main widths of line in my drawings which is a medium line and a small line. The medium being the outside lines of the things in the picture and the small line is the outline of the iris of the inner eye part. I want these two main widths to be consistent and as smooth as possible

I save the new bitmap traced image as a new vector (svg) file and import it/open it in Illustrator

As you can see it's no longer pixelated but I'm not happy with various aspects of the lines themselves

and wish to be able to manipulate the lines in a way that makes them consistent and smooth

I'm aware of certain things like the smooth tool, pen tool, and simplify path tool but I didn't know if perhaps there was something out there that I wasn't aware of that might be more suitable for what I'm wanting to do. If anyone has any suggestions outside of what illustrator has to offer please mention it as well.

[Jacob Bugge]

grifolsd,

As I (mis)understand it, to get stroked paths, use Strokes under Tracing options:

https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/using/image-trace.html

You may also look here:

http://blogs.adobe.com/adobeillustrator/2013/07/image-trace-in-illustrator-a-tutorial-and-guide.html

Always expand after image tracing to get things to work.

Select it/them and Object>Image Trace>Expand.

[grifolsd21111049]

I already said that image trace is useless when trying to keep details and that link that for the blog post link was not helpful

[Monika Gause]

There is no way to do what you want.

For any autotracing app a scanned image is a bunch of colored pixels. Autotracing can't make sense of it. It doesn't see lines or any other structure in it, it only sees colored pixels and it replaces colored pixels by colored paths.

Illustrators autotrace feature tries to smooth lines while tracing, which is what causes it to be not precise. Autotracing can be either precise or smooth. You always have to sacrifice either of them. And that's what you did.

You sacrificed smoothness.

[barbara_a]

This link addresses a question similar to yours.

https://graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/questions/33792/convert-shape-to-line-with-a-stroke-in-illus...

But you may not be pleased with the outcome of the techniques suggested.

It would be tedious but more accurate if you put your scanned artwork on a Template layer and traced it by hand on a separate layer.