Quick Tip: Make Vector Silhouettes with Live Trace and Photoshop
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Quick Tip: Make Vector Silhouettes with Live Trace and Photoshop

on Oct 1st 2010 with 19 comments
Tutorial Details
  • Program: Illustrator CS4
  • Difficulty: Beginner
  • Length: 4:09 min

Live Trace is a quick and easy way to make vector silhouettes from photos. If your photo is less than perfect, Photoshop can help. In this Video Quick Tip you will learn how master the Live Trace settings and turn a raster image into a clean vector shape.

 
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Cheryl Graham trained as a traditional artist in drawing and painting. These days she spends more time in front of the computer than the easel. She's been using Adobe Illustrator for over 15 years. Her Illustrator work has been featured in the "The Adobe Illustrator WOW! Book" and "Real World Illustrator."  

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  • http://www.designioustimes.com Doink

    Really nice tip! Works well for Photoshop too, since it involves a selection via Channels.

    For a 2 in 1 tip i can only say THANKS! :D

  • MattS

    To really makje this a killer tip, please explain how this would be transformed to a custom shape in photoshop. I can’t figure that one out =]

    • http://bucketothought.com/loungekat/blog/ LoungeKat

      Well we’re more Illustrator than Photoshop here – but to make a custom shape in PSD from AI – you paste the vector into a photoshop document – select the Paste As Shape Layer option in the dialogue box that pops up – then with the shape selected, go to Edit> Define Custom Shape :)

  • oVelts

    Very nice tip!!!! tks a lot!

  • anthony myers

    Very Cool! Thanks for this!

  • Fábio Barbosa de Oliveira

    Amazing Tutorial!!! Thanks!!!

  • http://www.webdesigncapetown.co.za Mark

    Awesome tutorial and really easy to follow. Thanks.

  • http://inhousedriveby.blogspot.com/ Daniel

    Great quick tip as always from Cheryl. Thanks!

  • iaroslav lazunov

    Thanks Cheryl, very gooood !

  • Anthony myers

    I’m not able to recolor my items afterwards. Any idea why?

    • Cheryl

      Anthony, did you expand the Live Trace? It won’t become vector — and this able to be recolored — until it is expanded.

  • rlharris9337

    This is what I’ve been looking for. Thank you sooooooo much. Good job.

  • Artboy34

    Great information, and very well explained. Thanks for posting!

  • Anthony myers

    @cheryl Yes, I am hitting the expand button, this is very odd. When I try to change the color, It can only be changed to any variety of greys and black. This is probably something very simple I’m missing.

    • Cheryl

      Could it be that your document is Grayscale instead of RGB or CMYK?

  • Anthony Myers

    haha, well it is in rgb mode. I’m placing an image in and then doing what you say in the video. I am able to re-color the outline, but not the fill. No matter what color I try to fill, it always turns it a grey or a black. Very odd. O well, thanks for trying to help though!

  • Jim

    Very cool video!

    Thanks for the tut!

  • SY

    Like this tut,thanks for posting!!

  • Myrddin

    How does this explain the tracing option inside Photoshop, misleading title of the post.