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active_Brilliance1549
Inspiring
August 10, 2021
Answered

Convert photo to line drawing

  • August 10, 2021
  • 3 replies
  • 90185 views

This should be fairly simple, but I am having a lot of trouble converting a photo to a line drawing.

 I thought there was once a filter for just that, but maybe I am dreaming that. Any suggestions?

    Correct answer jane-e

    Hi @active_Brilliance1549 

    The basic steps in Illustrator are:

    • Start a new file in Illustrator and choose File > Place to place your photo
    • Select the image
    • Choose Image Trace from either the Control or Properties panel
    • Try the Presets to see which is closest — some create fills, some paths, some both
    • Adjust the setting in the Image Trace panel (Window menu, Control panel, Properties panel)
    • Be sure to expand the "Advanced" section
    • When it looks good, Expand (Properties or Control panel) to convert to vector
    • It is now a Group of vector objects

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

     

    ~ Jane

     

    3 replies

    jane-e
    Community Expert
    jane-eCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    September 22, 2024

    @Subrata_Biswas1828 

    Do you have a question about how to use Photoshop?

    Jane

    davescm
    Community Expert
    davescmCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    August 10, 2021

    If you have Adobe Illustrator in your subscription package you might want to look at Illustrator's image trace options

    Dave

      A
      active_Brilliance1549Author
      Inspiring
      August 12, 2021

      Thanks. I do have a subscription, but I am not very well-versed in AI. I will give it a try.

        jane-e
        Community Expert
        jane-eCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
        Community Expert
        August 12, 2021

        Hi @active_Brilliance1549 

        The basic steps in Illustrator are:

        • Start a new file in Illustrator and choose File > Place to place your photo
        • Select the image
        • Choose Image Trace from either the Control or Properties panel
        • Try the Presets to see which is closest — some create fills, some paths, some both
        • Adjust the setting in the Image Trace panel (Window menu, Control panel, Properties panel)
        • Be sure to expand the "Advanced" section
        • When it looks good, Expand (Properties or Control panel) to convert to vector
        • It is now a Group of vector objects

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

         

        ~ Jane

         

          D Fosse
          Community Expert
          D FosseCommunity Expert
          Community Expert
          August 10, 2021

          There's Filter > Stylize > Find Edges - but it does just that. I can't guarantee that you'll be happy with the result.

            Stephen Marsh
            Community Expert
            Stephen MarshCommunity Expert
            Community Expert
            September 22, 2024
            quote

            There's Filter > Stylize > Find Edges - but it does just that. I can't guarantee that you'll be happy with the result.


            By @D Fosse

             

            Keeping this in Photoshop, in addition to the filter mentioned above, there is also Filter > Filter Gallery > Stylize > Glowing Edges.

             

            This can also be performed using the custom filter. Here are some actions that I created many years ago using various custom convolution kernels:

             

            https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/v39rtjk2o5d4dv4zwgr4x/Custom-Convolution-Kernels.atn?rlkey=i6rad9i14q3eqfyay6k3qtynk&st=61qxf68r&dl=0

             

            In most cases, one may need to pre-process before using any edge-finding filter, to simplify or remove noise etc.

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