Trace/outline a section and color?

[kellyf4507295]

Full disclaimer: I'm not a graphic designer and have not worked much in AI (or any of the other tools other than Photoshop) so I apologize if my question is basic. Don't laugh

I'm trying to take a map with county outlines, choose 3 counties and color them in to show an area that we service for Real Estate but I have no idea how to do it. Should I even be using AI to do this? For stuff like this I used to use Paint and was able to get it to work but since I now have access to much better tools I'd rather use those.

My gut is telling me to create a new layer but what I can't figure out is how to outline the counties I want to spotlight and colorize. I went to image trace and that did not work - the file is a .png file and when I tried all options in image trace most of the lines disappeared.

[Doug A Roberts]

what does the png look like? there are lots of options in image trace, so it's possible you just haven't played around enough with it. keep the options window open (window > image trace)

otherwise if it's simple enough, make a new layer above the placed png and draw the outlines with the pen etc.

[Myra Ferguson]

I don't think you need to use Image Trace if what you want is to show an area over a map you have.

First I'd start by making the outline shape on a new layer. In the layer panel, click the Create New Layer button on the bottom (2nd from the right).

Then make your outline shape. You can do that with several different tools. The pen tool can be tricky for new users, but if you don't need specific curves, you could just click at every corner you need to make. If it's a more organic shape, you could use the blob brush. You might just try experimenting with the various drawing tools to see which feels most comfortable.

Once you create your shape, select it, and in Illustrator CC 2018, you can go to the Properties panel to reduce the opacity and/or click on the word Opacity and select a blend mode from the drop down menu.

BTW, good job giving it a try in Illustrator and for posting your question. Everyone starts somewhere.

[edgrimley]

The pen tool is likely your best option if you need vector using AI. But if you don't need a vector image, then Photoshop would be better.