Vector program ??

[BRYAN REDFORD]

Is there a program out there that is free or cheap..or any..
That you all recommend and use...

So i can take photograph of say a motorcycle. Put it in and it turn it in to a perfect b/w vectorived photo so i can engrave it in to acrylic....
I have been re-drawing and outlining everyone...and it takes alot of time to clean up a bike,car,face, etc...


Remember im new at this.... So be nice...!!!
No sarcasm...just help please...

[Bruce Volden]

All programs that will vectorize will require your time and effort to "clean up" to your expectations. There are, however, many small companies that will do the vectorizing for you and are actually quite reasonable, most less than $25!
HTH

Bruce

[Norberto Coutinho]

Is there a program out there that is free or cheap..or any..
That you all recommend and use...

So i can take photograph of say a motorcycle. Put it in and it turn it in to a perfect b/w vectorived photo so i can engrave it in to acrylic....
I have been re-drawing and outlining everyone...and it takes alot of time to clean up a bike,car,face, etc...


Remember im new at this.... So be nice...!!!
No sarcasm...just help please...
.
Hi... try vectormagic.com

[Martin Boekers]

There are a handful of Open Source software out there use "Open Source" in your search.

GIMP is a popular one similar to Photoshop, there are others.

Does it have to be vector? There are ways to process through Photoshop
using the "Gold Method" (search forum for that) then import it to Corel.
Photoshop Elements comes free with many scanners and printers you can probably get a copy from a friend who has a couple sitting around.;)

Corel has Photopaint as part of the suite so it may work on that.

I suggest you search the forum for engraving photos as there is a large amount of info on
theat topic.

Hope this helps.

One more note perfect is a "Slippery Beast" with engraving!:D

Marty

[Dan Hintz]

If you want to trace an image as a vector, take a look at InkScape... free and continually being updated.

[Ron Thompson]

If you have Corel Draw X3 or X4, you might be interested in a program that works in Corel called “BlackLine”
Go to http://steveyatesgraphics.com/ (http://steveyatesgraphics.com/) and he also sells through ebay.
I’d suggest that you watch the video both on his web site where he does a mustang and also at ebay where he processes a motorcycle.

Cost is $19 to $30.00


Ron in San Jose

[Ron Thompson]

I just checked the website
http://steveyatesgraphics.com/?page=bl_buy

And you can download a 14 day trail for free for either Photoshop or Corel X3 or X4.

Ron Thompson

[carl stevenson]

The easiest way to do what you want is with inkscape, its free and works on mac and pc.

You import your bitmap/jpeg into inkscape - trace it (with various options) - and you have a vector which can be saved in various formats.

[Richard Rumancik]

Is there a program out there . . .That you all recommend and use... So i can take photograph of say a motorcycle. Put it in and it turn it in to a perfect b/w vectorived photo so i can engrave it in to acrylic....

It is not clear why you want to turn a bitmap into a vector and turn it back into a bitmap to raster engrave it. You may have a reason - are you trying to convert the photo to line art? Did you need to be able to scale it up and down? If it is to remain a photo, most people would not go thorough the step of vectorizing it and then converting it back to raster to engrave.

But if it is really line art that you desire, then you need a raster to vector conversion program. You can do it manually but as you know it will take a lot of time unless you have some special talent for manipulating curves and nodes. Some people swear by the hand-trace method but I would tend to use a program like Vector Magic and then fine-tune by hand.

The appearance of line art will be significantly different than a photo. Line art is more what you would see for a logo; it won't look like a photograph after the conversion. I'm not convinced that you really want/need to convert to vector.

[Frank Corker]

That blackline looks pretty good. Might give that one a try! Thanks Ron

Also found this which shows it being used: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZW8aVKNQFU

[Bill Cunningham]

That blackline looks pretty good. Might give that one a try! Thanks Ron

Also found this which shows it being used: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZW8aVKNQFU

Thanks for finding that youtube vid Frank.. The one on the website was not loading for some reason.. And I have to agree with you.. That looks like a very useful addition. Thanks Ron for posting that..