Unable to 'Create Outlines' on vectorised calligraphy

"Create Outlines" is an option for types (writings made by Type tool). For vectorized images, you have to use other tools or options. If your lettering is already vectorized in another soft and imported into Illustrator, it's already a vector and you don't need to do anything else, just set Fill and Stroke. If you just scanned and imported the image, use Image Trace like Ton suggests and then work with the result.

If you are creating lettering using Illustrator drawing tools or Image Trace applied to a scan or photo, you cannot use Create Outlines from the Type menu because it is not type.

If it's an Image Trace, and you have expanded it, you may want to ungroup a couple of times before working on individual parts.

In any case, Create Outlines is not the appropriate feature to use unless you have used a font to create lettering in a Type object.

Peter

I am not sure of your process, but if you did an image trace with ignore white for the background, then once you have the tracing (which is a fill) you should be able to stroke that tracing. Maybe that isn't what you want, but the proces should work. If we had an image of what it is, we might be able to better help you.

Object > Image Trace > Expand?

Create Outlines is used for converting Type (a font) to vector outlines.

What exactly do you want, a stroked object?

Please show something.