This will also allow you to see if anything needs to be cleaned up. In the image below, we have separated all of the elements, or in this case, the colors. Right click the traced image and select Ungroup. You can delete the original JPG image as we no longer need it. Now that we have traced the image we want to ungroup all of the elements. The original JPG is on the left while the traced result is on the right. The image below is the result of the Trace Bitmap scan settings. Once you are happy with the settings, click Apply. We left the rest of the settings as is and clicked on Update to get a preview of the scan. Stacking will separate the colors into stacked layers, which are easier to handle. Smooth, Stack and Remove Background were all ticked. We left the Scans at 8, just a little more than the amount of colors in the image. Click on the image to select then click on the drop down menu under Multiple Scans. As our image is in color, we will use the Multiple Scans option. Singles Scans is generally used for black and white images. Make sure to select Trace Bitmap, the first option and then Multiple Scans. The Trace Bitmap panel will open on the right hand side. This tool can be found by going to Path > Trace Bitmap. We will be using the Trace Bitmap feature to turn our JPG into a SVG. This is more a feature that requires you to experiment until you find the result you want. Results will vary from image to image and some options available will have no effect. It is not a perfect tool that will give you consistent results. Something to note regarding the Trace Bitmap option. When you open an image in Inkscape a window called PNG Bitmap Image Import will appear. For example, you can touch up any smaller tricky spots in Photoshop, but the tracing controls in Illustrator are (as far as I know) global only.Once you have opened Inkscape, import your JPG file by going to File > Open. It is possible to run LiveTrace on an unprepared (color) raster, but I find the results are better when you do your modifications beforehand. Remember to make it only black and white (if you are working with a laser printer). When you are happy with your image, go to File>Save a copy, and save a PDF. I played around with color on DP's helmets, and added text. Once you have a vector format, you can experiment with additions or modifications. For example, if your image is pixelated, you can tell Illustrator to smooth out the jagged pixel edges in its trace. There are lots of options that determine how exactly to trace the image. In Illustrator, the tool to trace a raster image automatically is called LiveTrace, located in the Object menu. You can do this automatically or by hand for simpler images. If you did a good job in the last step, this should be relatively easy. I haven't done this, so let me know if you find a good workflow. You could use (requires creation of a free AdobeID) for raster work, and Vector Magic (or Potrace) to do a vector trace of raster images. The only downside is that (as far as I know) there aren't too many web based resources for editing vector graphics. Web-Based: if for some reason you don't want to download a bunch of new software, you should be able to use web services exclusively. Try GIMP for raster manipulations and Inkscape for vector tracing, manipulations, and tile printing. Open Source Software: You can definitely accomplish this Instructable using only open-source software. I used Photoshop, Illustrator, and Acrobat. I had access through my school, so check on that if you are associated with an institution. Adobe Suite: This is expensive software but the way to go if you can. (optional): Adding color accents can really have some outstanding effects. Paper cutter (scissors will work, but will take much longer) Depending on your image, you will use a lot of toner, so keep that in mind. Laser printer: Preferably one where you don't have to pay per page. An image (most any format, but if it's already a vector (PDF, EPS, SVG, etc.) you can skip some steps). Sorry for the quality of the photo of the final product - We finished at 2AM and were really tired. I was really happy with the output, and the night before the event someone even stole the poster. I used this technique to create a big poster for a Daft Punk dance party my friends and I were throwing. Why not create a large Rasterbation-like poster with exact lines and shapes? It's actually really easy. I love the Rasterbator, but I also love the crispness of vector graphics sometimes.
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