Jaggies in my graphic

[Heirloom Bob]

I have an AI/EPS image from Adobe stock and I have Photoshop 2017 but my version of Illustrator  is CS4.

I want to remove the background and recolour the image for use in InDesign as part of a logo idea I am working on.

My issue is that if I open in Photoshop, convert to Smart Object, rasterize and then remove the white background i have serious jaggies. I profess to be an absolute neophyte with Illustrator, but my research says Ii should open in Illustrator for the work I need to do. Can anyone guide me through the process of removing the background while maintaining sharpness and then what format should I save it in?

Attachment below is the image from PS and saved as a jpg, just so that you can see what I am faced with. I am unable to attach the original in it's original AI/EPS format.

Bob

[edgrimley]

Will the AI or EPS file open with your CS4 Illustrator? If so does it have layers and is one of the layers the background you wish to eliminate? If so you only need to turn it off or delete the layer.

[jane-e · Accepted solution]

https://forums.adobe.com/people/Heirloom+Bob  wrote

I have an AI/EPS image from Adobe stock and I have Photoshop 2017 but my version of Illustrator  is CS4. I want to remove the background and recolour the image for use in InDesign as part of a logo idea I am working on.

Bob

Yes, that's what will happen with that workflow. Keep it in Illustrator and edit it there if you want to keep it vector.

If you want the image to be in PS, then you Place it into PS instead of opening it. It is then placed as a smart object. You can double-click the smart object to edit it in Illustrator and keep it vector.

Opening it in PS will rasterize it, meaning it won't be vector and you will have pixels.

Illustrator is transparent by default, unless a shape is drawn that is not transparent. If you edit it in Illustrator and there is a shape drawn for a background you can select it and delete it.

The format you want is .ai, and the application you want is Illustrator.