Stroke Going All Over Layer?

[Gareth_Williams]

Hi, I have a layer in PS where the stroke in the effects panel doesn’t just go around the edge it goes in spots all over the layer! What on earth could this be caused by? The layer is an image dragged in from illustrator that has been rasterised in PS.

Many thanks for your help,
Gareth

[c.pfaffenbichler]

Could you please post a screenshot taken at View > 100% with the pertinent Panels (Toolbar, Layers, Options Bar, …) visible? 

[Gareth_Williams]

Thanks, it's completely random If you apply certain effects with a stoke this doesn't happen but with some it does.

[c.pfaffenbichler]

Was the image created with »Image Trace« in Illustrator? 

Edit: If so: Which »Method« did you use? 

[lambiloon]

Hi, make sure your stoke value is not bigger than the shape try at one or two points...regards

[c.pfaffenbichler]

Could you provide the ai-file (or a psd with the placed, unrasterized Smart Object)? 

[Gareth_Williams]

I've realised that it's only when the stroke is set to centre that this happens. When you set the stroke in the effect to outside everything goes back to normal. The unrasterized ai attached. Yeah it was image trace, photo high fidelity,

[c.pfaffenbichler]

No attachment, please pos ton the Forum in the browser properly. 

Which Method? 

[Gareth_Williams]

I have tried to post it twice. It just says “Correct the highlighted errors and try again. The attachment's oscarbird.ai content type (application/postscript) does not match its file extension and has been removed” and removes the file.

[Gareth_Williams]

Method was I just selected the placed image and then selected “photo high fidelity” in the live trace panel then I went to Object/Live Trace/Expand. However, I've just realised that on all the other times I did this I did it a different way! I will try it again the same way I did it last time and see what happens!

[Gareth_Williams]

Ok, I've done it the other way now and it's had the same result. With the placed image selected I go … Object/Live Trace/Make, then select “photo high fidelity” in the Live Trace pannel and then Object/Live Trace/Expand. Thanks for your help.

[c.pfaffenbichler]

Again: Which »Method« did you use?! 

[Gareth_Williams]

I didn't see that option. I will do it again and get back to you. Thanks.

[Gareth_Williams]

Ok, it was “overlapping” method. If you select photo high fidelity it uses this method. If you change the method to “abutting” the present chages from “photo high fidelity” to “custom”. However, I have now figured out a work around where you just flatten the raterized image in PS down onto a layer below and all the weird spots in the middle go away when you put a stroke on the layer.

[melissapiccone · Accepted solution]

The stroke goes around all of the pixels, so if you have "stray" pixels, or in your case - "holes" - the stroke will show up. 

[Gareth_Williams]

Yeah, that explains it. Holes in the middle. I didn't think of that! Thanks.

[c.pfaffenbichler]

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@Gareth_Williams wrote:

Ok, it was “overlapping” method. If you select photo high fidelity it uses this method. If you change the method to “abutting” the present chages from “photo high fidelity” to “custom”. However, I have now figured out a work around where you just flatten the raterized image in PS down onto a layer below and all the weird spots in the middle go away when you put a stroke on the layer.

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That seems wrong; with »Overlapping« I cannot reproduce your issue while it happens with »Abutting«. 

Why don’t you use Smart Objects by the way? 

[c.pfaffenbichler]

 

[Gareth_Williams]

I don't know what smart objects does, but what I do is turn an image (e.g. a photo) into a vector so I can scale it up. It looses some detail when you trace the image but then you can scale it up and it makes no difference.

[c.pfaffenbichler]

But then you seem to rasterize it again in Photoshop. 

Why not maintain the vector data as a Smart Object? 

[Gareth_Williams]

It starts off as a squre. The bit I want is the circle in the middle. It gets rasterized then the edges of the square get chopped off. The stroke and inner shadow then goes round the circle. Hope that makes sense!

[c.pfaffenbichler]

Why do you »chop« destructively instead of using a Vector Mask or Layer Mask? 

[Gareth_Williams]

That is the only way I know how to do it. If a vector mask or layer mask would allow for a stroke and inner shadow around the circle that would be just as good. I'll look into it. Thanks!

[c.pfaffenbichler]

They do. 

Actually a Stroke on a Shape Layer (additional to the masked Smart Object) would be superior because it could employ dashed strokes and output as vector data in certeain file formats.