I was going insane trying to figure out why Image Trace was behaving strangely all of a sudden, and I didn't see the "Method: Cut Out" options until watching your video. Thank you! That fixed my problem. There is a huge difference between "cut out" and "overlap" tracing!
Thanks so much for this. Once again Adobe makes an express trip to Stupidville, going away from a long established feature. My workaround has been to trace in an older version. This video is exceptionally helpful. Thank you.
Glad it was helpful! They have heard our complaints and fixed it in the most recent version, so try it out and see if it's better for you now. Take care!
At first I was no fan of the new Image Trace, but after watching this and playing around some you've changed my view. I don't know if it was there before, but the Save as New Preset is something I will be using for sure. Thanks for going over the new Ignore Color eyedropper, Simplify, and Revert to Original - all welcome features. You really make some great videos Laura, thank you!
Thanks for this, but for things like I use this for the vast majority of the time...logo vectorizing (I currently work in a sign shop)...this new tracing "feature" is a significant downgrade. Even after playing with it for days, I still can't get results as crisp and accurate as I could with the old tracing algorithms. We really need Adobe to bring back "Legacy Tracing" as an option like Legacy Export.
Hi Laura, great vid. I am a beginner. How do you get your trace and expand options fixed on the top bar please ? I can never find anything. That would help alot.
Hi. I need help 😂 Im using 2018 Il and when i trace logo why i cant move shapes from that logo ? It only transfer it to vector but i cant "cut" it in shapes like on this video here it doesnt show anchor points on image but on image trace panel it say i have lots of anchor points. Sorry for badly english. I love your video its very beautiful and really professional made.
@@VOJNIKSRECE94 Yes, expanding makes the tracing into vectors (points and paths). Before expanding, you can make adjustments to the settings. When you are ready to expand, select the tracing and click the expand button. One is on the top control bar, and another is on the properties panel (find these panels in the Window menu if they are not open). Here's a video: th-cam.com/video/8Q6hqxO_uvA/w-d-xo.html
I'm completely clueless when it comes to illustrator so I watched a tutorial and followed it by heart over the past year and know they did this. My trace panel stays greyed out no matter what I do. The image is selected and is an image and not a vector so I don't know what's going on.
When you have an image selected, the panel is greyed out until you run a tracing. Click the Trace button on the panel, or on the top control bar - after that, the sliders will be available to allow you to make adjustments to the image tracing. Image tracings can be adjusted in the panel until you expand them to vectors by clicking the expand button.
In a nutshell, I like to lower the number of colors (starting from one of the limited color presets then working with the slider) as much as I can to keep the result from getting too complex. Hope that helps!
1:28 More than likely, those "6 colors" are actually tones of black [aka levels of "gray"]. When paint programs, like Fresco, do "anti-aliasing" they smooth out "jaggies" (those stair-step edges you see in a solid black and white digital drawing) by using gradations of color. If the edge being smoothed is colored black, the gradations will be levels of gray. In the digital-art world, "gray" is a _color._ In the case where you saw "thousands of colors", the same thing is probably true. If you zoom into an edge, you will likely see these "colors" as various tones of black, creating the illusion of a smooth edge, void of jaggies. It's an illusion because ALL digital images have jaggies if you look close enough, because of pixels, which always have a size, and thus, assuming the pixels are square or rectangular, present a stair-step edge for angles other than 0°, 90°, 180°, etc. Bottom line, those "colors" are likely shades of gray (tones of black).
I understand anti-aliasing - my puzzlement is why the new update to this feature "auto-detection" thought that drawing would be best served by a fulltone color tracing. It's confusing and misleading, especially for newer users. Since this video, Adobe removed the faulty "auto-detection," and the default tracing is again black and white. Hopefully, if they reintroduce auto-detect, it will work as expected.
Thank you! You can check strokes instead of fills when you are tracing, but for a drawing like the flowers in the video, I've never gotten results that are not good enough in quality to be useful. It doesn't know the difference between outlining a leaf shape, and drawing the stem and veins separately - it kind of mushes the parts together ;-)
I have been a long time user of Illustrator and is it just me but, since Adobe decided to add AI it seems that it is becoming harder and harder to actually do original design work. I find myself constantly fighting the software… at times it feels like it has a mind of its own. As a creative professional, I find this disturbing because the quality and creative aspect of the software seems to be going downhill in favor of the engineering team’s lack of understanding of how artists actually work.
I collapse the Text to Vector area of the Properties panel because it takes up so much space, the most everyday controls are pushed to the bottom. If you haven't done that, maybe that will help a bit. But I do sympathize with that feeling - AI with artists, and how it's getting more attention in favor of other things at Adobe.
Thank you, Laura! I am using Image Trace to vectorize images for Adobe ANIMATE. I still use an older version of Illustrator, and created a video explaining it here: th-cam.com/video/VPyv53SKWSw/w-d-xo.html and since I've discovered YOUR great explanation I put a link at the end of my video description. Thanks so much for helping students! :)
I am happy I found this but I wish we still had the option to ignore white. When I need to trace a PNG with a transparent background, it adds a white background and I have to manually delete it.
@@LauraCoyle Ok, I think I got it but I used to be able to trace in B&W from a color logo/image. I didn't realize now I have to select trace in color. 😬
I hear you! The CS5 interface was very adjustable, but I've actually been happy with it, once I figured out my own settings... until 27.6.1 😱 I'm glad they fixed it, and for me now it's the same good results as before.
@@LauraCoyle I wouldn't be annoyed but all 3 "illustrator" tools I use most often have gone worse in the last year or two. Have you noticed how weird the new Simply is? It messes up at least 1 curve 99% of the time, making too sharp. The quick menu sucks too. Also I've noticed something is going on with the Blend.
I just lost a 2 hour of work, due to live trace and Recovery is not even possible, Illustrator 2023 is probably the most garbage version of all illustrator. I never had issue with this program, I had enough with premiere pro and now Illustrator is acting like a garbage too, what has this world become. Can somebody Please tell Adobe to stop hiring incompetent developers.
I'm so sorry to hear that! There's nothing worse than losing work!! I've had minor issues here and there, but overall Illustrator 2023 has been working well for me.
Very helpful, I was starting to despair of the 'improvements' Thank you.
Glad it helped!
I was going insane trying to figure out why Image Trace was behaving strangely all of a sudden, and I didn't see the "Method: Cut Out" options until watching your video. Thank you! That fixed my problem. There is a huge difference between "cut out" and "overlap" tracing!
Glad it helped! Yes, there's a big difference. It's good to be able to choose which one you want, but easy to miss that setting.
Great video thanks Laura. I will definitely put all of these tips to good use.
Hope you are well and happy and that life is treating you very well
Thank you! You too!
Thanks so much for this. Once again Adobe makes an express trip to Stupidville, going away from a long established feature. My workaround has been to trace in an older version. This video is exceptionally helpful. Thank you.
Glad it was helpful! They have heard our complaints and fixed it in the most recent version, so try it out and see if it's better for you now. Take care!
thank you Laura! saved me some time on a beautiful Friday afternoon.
You are so welcome!
Perfectly helpful. Thank you so much for showing me around.
You are so welcome!
Thank you SO much for this info!!! Now I need to decide wether to revert back to a prior version, or keep this one.
Glad it was helpful! I really think with tweaked settings, it will be ok to stay current - but I can understand downgrading too!
At first I was no fan of the new Image Trace, but after watching this and playing around some you've changed my view. I don't know if it was there before, but the Save as New Preset is something I will be using for sure. Thanks for going over the new Ignore Color eyedropper, Simplify, and Revert to Original - all welcome features. You really make some great videos Laura, thank you!
Aww, thanks so much! The saved preset was there before - but I feel like we need it now more than ever ;-)
Thanks for this, but for things like I use this for the vast majority of the time...logo vectorizing (I currently work in a sign shop)...this new tracing "feature" is a significant downgrade. Even after playing with it for days, I still can't get results as crisp and accurate as I could with the old tracing algorithms. We really need Adobe to bring back "Legacy Tracing" as an option like Legacy Export.
Thanks for sharing - sorry to hear that - I need to try this on some logos, very different from drawings. I hope Adobe improves this!
Sooooo useful - thank you! 😊
Glad to hear that!😁
Amazing tutorial, thank you
Glad you enjoyed it!
omg this is a jewel! thank you so much!!!
You're so welcome!
Hi Laura, great vid. I am a beginner. How do you get your trace and expand options fixed on the top bar please ? I can never find anything. That would help alot.
Go to the Window menu and choose Control, this puts the bar at the top that shows options based on your selection. Thanks!!
Hi. I need help 😂 Im using 2018 Il and when i trace logo why i cant move shapes from that logo ? It only transfer it to vector but i cant "cut" it in shapes like on this video here it doesnt show anchor points on image but on image trace panel it say i have lots of anchor points. Sorry for badly english. I love your video its very beautiful and really professional made.
Maybe you didn’t expand it after you Image Traced it?
@@LauraCoyle so i need to expand after trace ? Thats like step number 2 for what im asking ? And how do i expand ? In image trace window ?
@@VOJNIKSRECE94 Yes, expanding makes the tracing into vectors (points and paths). Before expanding, you can make adjustments to the settings. When you are ready to expand, select the tracing and click the expand button. One is on the top control bar, and another is on the properties panel (find these panels in the Window menu if they are not open). Here's a video: th-cam.com/video/8Q6hqxO_uvA/w-d-xo.html
you are just amazing wonderful great teaching thank you mam
You are very welcome
I'm completely clueless when it comes to illustrator so I watched a tutorial and followed it by heart over the past year and know they did this.
My trace panel stays greyed out no matter what I do. The image is selected and is an image and not a vector so I don't know what's going on.
When you have an image selected, the panel is greyed out until you run a tracing. Click the Trace button on the panel, or on the top control bar - after that, the sliders will be available to allow you to make adjustments to the image tracing. Image tracings can be adjusted in the panel until you expand them to vectors by clicking the expand button.
Do you have a setting for color images
In a nutshell, I like to lower the number of colors (starting from one of the limited color presets then working with the slider) as much as I can to keep the result from getting too complex. Hope that helps!
1:28 More than likely, those "6 colors" are actually tones of black [aka levels of "gray"]. When paint programs, like Fresco, do "anti-aliasing" they smooth out "jaggies" (those stair-step edges you see in a solid black and white digital drawing) by using gradations of color. If the edge being smoothed is colored black, the gradations will be levels of gray. In the digital-art world, "gray" is a _color._ In the case where you saw "thousands of colors", the same thing is probably true. If you zoom into an edge, you will likely see these "colors" as various tones of black, creating the illusion of a smooth edge, void of jaggies. It's an illusion because ALL digital images have jaggies if you look close enough, because of pixels, which always have a size, and thus, assuming the pixels are square or rectangular, present a stair-step edge for angles other than 0°, 90°, 180°, etc. Bottom line, those "colors" are likely shades of gray (tones of black).
I understand anti-aliasing - my puzzlement is why the new update to this feature "auto-detection" thought that drawing would be best served by a fulltone color tracing. It's confusing and misleading, especially for newer users. Since this video, Adobe removed the faulty "auto-detection," and the default tracing is again black and white. Hopefully, if they reintroduce auto-detect, it will work as expected.
Great video. Thank you
You are welcome!
Anyone else's Advanced tab options disappear when you click on it? So annoying! Can't seem to find a fix. Help!
Oh no! I'm not seeing that on my end, I'm in Ai 27.7. Have you tried resetting preferences and then restarting?
im having the same issue!
Love your content! Is it possible to do a centerline trace in Illustrator without tracing by hand? TIA!
Thank you! You can check strokes instead of fills when you are tracing, but for a drawing like the flowers in the video, I've never gotten results that are not good enough in quality to be useful. It doesn't know the difference between outlining a leaf shape, and drawing the stem and veins separately - it kind of mushes the parts together ;-)
@@LauraCoyle Perfect explanation! Thank you for replying!
this video is BASED thank you
you are welcome!
LIFE SAVER!
YAY! 😁
thanks for the tips
You bet!
Thank you!
You're welcome!
Thankyou
You’re welcome 😊
Absolutely hate the new Inage trace. I reverted back a few versions of Illustrator.
I get it! Changing your settings will help, but reverting makes sense too.
They have added all this AI nonsense, and the new Trace doesn't even recognise a circle in black and white. Definitely worse.
I have been a long time user of Illustrator and is it just me but, since Adobe decided to add AI it seems that it is becoming harder and harder to actually do original design work. I find myself constantly fighting the software… at times it feels like it has a mind of its own. As a creative professional, I find this disturbing because the quality and creative aspect of the software seems to be going downhill in favor of the engineering team’s lack of understanding of how artists actually work.
I collapse the Text to Vector area of the Properties panel because it takes up so much space, the most everyday controls are pushed to the bottom. If you haven't done that, maybe that will help a bit. But I do sympathize with that feeling - AI with artists, and how it's getting more attention in favor of other things at Adobe.
Thank you, Laura! I am using Image Trace to vectorize images for Adobe ANIMATE. I still use an older version of Illustrator, and created a video explaining it here: th-cam.com/video/VPyv53SKWSw/w-d-xo.html and since I've discovered YOUR great explanation I put a link at the end of my video description. Thanks so much for helping students! :)
Hey Ruth, thanks so much!! Glad it was helpful 😁
Yes! I'm glad you are helping so many students! :)
@@LauraCoyle
Thank you. I thought it was just me….
:-) (sigh) Adobe heard our frustrations and have fixed it in the most recent version.
I am happy I found this but I wish we still had the option to ignore white. When I need to trace a PNG with a transparent background, it adds a white background and I have to manually delete it.
You still have that option - it's called Ignore Color now, and by default, it ignores white - so it works the same. So important, I agree!
@@LauraCoyle Ok, I think I got it but I used to be able to trace in B&W from a color logo/image. I didn't realize now I have to select trace in color. 😬
You don’t have to trace in color, there is an option for black and white tracing, it’s still there.
They havent had good tracing since CS5. I keep CS5 around just for tracing.
I hear you! The CS5 interface was very adjustable, but I've actually been happy with it, once I figured out my own settings... until 27.6.1 😱 I'm glad they fixed it, and for me now it's the same good results as before.
Jebus. I was like... AGAIN they messed up. NEVER UPDATE! It only gets worse.
I know... I tried the public beta and it is already a lot better, it's going to work out - stay tuned!
@@LauraCoyle I wouldn't be annoyed but all 3 "illustrator" tools I use most often have gone worse in the last year or two. Have you noticed how weird the new Simply is? It messes up at least 1 curve 99% of the time, making too sharp. The quick menu sucks too.
Also I've noticed something is going on with the Blend.
I didn’t notice a change to simplify- I gotta check that!
I just lost a 2 hour of work, due to live trace and Recovery is not even possible, Illustrator 2023 is probably the most garbage version of all illustrator. I never had issue with this program, I had enough with premiere pro and now Illustrator is acting like a garbage too, what has this world become. Can somebody Please tell Adobe to stop hiring incompetent developers.
I'm so sorry to hear that! There's nothing worse than losing work!! I've had minor issues here and there, but overall Illustrator 2023 has been working well for me.
Thant you Laura, this is very helpful!
You're so welcome!