To match the sketchy style of my image, I use the scribble option found by opening the Appearance window, selecting Add New Effect, then Stylize.Ī couple more adjustments to the colors and we have a fun custom vector graphic that can be used for a multitude of applications. For fun, I’ll add our logo to the cup by pasting it into my new image and using the Object > Envelope Distort > Make with Warp option to fit the logo to the curve of the cup. I can change the color, make additional tweaks, and add a background. I also checked the ‘Ignore White’ box so just the black outlines were included in my vector. For my image, I needed to increase the threshold significantly and make other minor adjustments in the advanced panel. You’ll want to open the Image Trace panel located near the top of the screen.įrom here you can make tweaks and adjustments to your line art that will increase or decrease the density of your lines as well as show or hide more detail. Older versions of Illustrator will have a Live Trace option instead of the Image Trace, but the editing options are very similar. Select the image and from the top menu select Object >Image Trace > Make. I added a handle and excluded the polka dots. Since we’re not using the original image, you can get creative here and add or remove anything you don’t want. Use your marker to draw the outlines you’d like to translate to your vector. You can use a tracing light box if you have one or tape your 2 sheets of paper over a window and use this to trace your image. Print your photo in black and white then lay your plain sheet of paper over the top. This can be your own photo but for this tutorial I’m using an image from Pexels.

Start by finding the photo you’d like to use. For this tutorial we’re going to find a photo we like, print it, trace it, scan it, then open it in Illustrator and use the Image Trace option to create our vector. Today we’re going to be using the program to create a simple line art illustration that we can save as a vector. Newer versions of Adobe Illustrator offer powerful tools for converting rasterized images to vectors. Graphic designers have unlimited resources when it comes to finding icons, photos and illustrations but every once in a while it becomes necessary to create our own. When creating a design concept, we rely on images to convey our message.

Icons and graphics are the universal means of communicating an idea.

Vector art illustrator