Sketch Drawing to Vector (Tracing)

[Sequence]

Hey guys, I did a sketch for a band t-shirt logo... I need to trace this sketch or whatever it is called to have a vectorized version of it. I'm good with Photoshop but never used Illustrator. Is there any easy way to do this (I don't have a tablet, only a mouse and a macbook touchpad.

I took a picture of the drawing:
http://motiontube.exacity.com/thecrowtheclown.jpg

I can pay someone to do it if anyone is interested (Can't pay alot tho)...
Or offer free hosting on my server.
Thanks!

 

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

Do you have access to a scanner? High resolution scans would make it much, much easier to trace for someone with the skills and time...

 

[Sequence]

Yea sure, I could scan it. Is it an easy job? How much time for a skilled person?

 

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

Is it an easy job? How much time for a skilled person?

Depends on the scan... and how much they have to clean up afterwords.

If you basically have to redraw it (which often is the case) it takes a while...

But if the scan is good, and you don't need "pro" print quality (you mentioned a t-shirt, right?) then you might get away with less work...

 

[bowzer]

Illustrator CS2 has a trace function. if you can get a near solid black on white image, some times it does an alright job, then you just go and clean the lines up.

Edit: Here's what i came up with in less than 5mins from your posted image. Obviously needs some work, but a better scan would help.

 

[Sequence]

That's awesome! If I redraw the whole thing with a black pen instead of pencil and I scan it, I could get a near perfect result in almost no time...
The thing is...

How did you do that?!

 

[Lebowski]

i cant upload/host and post from my mac at work, whats your email and i will send you a pdf.

 

[Lebowski]

 

[MacBoobsPro]

You dont need to redraw that particular artwork. The contrast is such you can just play with the levels in Photoshop to get pure black and white then convert to a bitmap tif. Now you have an exact replica of it in black and white and can colour it what you want in any package. Photoshop, Freehand, Illustrator, Quark etc.

The Autotrace option is handy but the results are far from perfect. As you can see from Lebowskis post the edges are smooth and not as crisp as your original. I do a lot of image tracing and when vectors are needed I do it all by hand because the results are always hit and miss with autotrace.

If you use the Photoshop bitmap technique it will take 30 seconds and it will be an exact replica, albeit not a vector.

 

[zero2dash]

How did you do that?!

Illustrator CS2 - Live Trace
info and instructions

I've used Live Trace so many times with artwork from customers that I've lost count. In my case - Live Trace was well worth the price of the CS2 Suite upgrade in the time and frustration it has saved me.

 

[Lebowski]

The Autotrace option is handy but the results are far from perfect. As you can see from Lebowskis post the edges are smooth and not as crisp as your original. I do a lot of image tracing and when vectors are needed I do it all by hand because the results are always hit and miss with autotrace.

seeing as i spent about 2 minutes total on the image, i think its ok, also considering its free. i too redraw anything i use for print using strictly pen tool. just didnt see it as a priority to spend an hour or two recreating a crappy logo into a perfect vector - for free.

 

[7on]

I like to treshhold the image
2) Select the black
3) Make path from selection
4) Export Work Path
5) Exclude Overlapping Areas in Illustrator's pathfinder
6) Expand
7) Fill with black (or other color)

Best to use an inked drawing. Always ink pencil work.
Work bigger and use a scanner too. I usually ink onto 11x17 and then scan. fun stuff.