Perfecting Hand Drawn Images

I am trying to turn hand drawn b&w monograms into vector images. My hand drawn images are not perfect and need to have lines straightened, curves fixed, etc. How can I make these changes once I have performed the Live Trace function? Is there a way to do this automatically or do I have to use the smooth tool? Are there other tools or functions that would be helpful? Thanks so much!

Contrary to marketing-driven misconception, the primary purpose of programs like Illustrator is not "automatic conversion" of raster images to vector-based paths (i.e.; autotracing).
Bezier drawing programs are primarily all about drawing accurate vector (math formula-based) paths deliberately. That necessarily means drawing them manually and knowingly.
In other words, for your stated purpose, you should not be doing this by starting with autotracing at all. You shoud be using the various drawing tools to methodically construct the artwork paths manually. Yes, the quality of the results is dependent upon proficiency. That's just the way it is in vector-based drawing, just as it is in just about anything.
Quality (including accuracy and economy) in vector-based drawing does not come from merely owning software, just as quality work on your car does not come from merely owning a wrench. In the vast majority of cases, using autotracing is just like a shadetree "mechanic" using a pair of pliers to turn a hex bolt. Both should make you cringe. Yeah, the pliers-wielding buffoon (and no, I'm not calling you a buffoon) may get the bolt to turn; and someone who never looks under the hood may never know the difference. But would you knowingly take your car back to such a "mechanic"?
Forget autotracing. It's crap. It has no shape-recognition intelligence. In Illustrator, it doesn't even know an actual circle from any other "sort of roundish" curve. The same can be said for features like Smooth, Roughen, etc. No, they are not utterly useless. But they should be used with knowing discretion.
Buckle down and learn to draw paths accurately, efficiently, and economically. It's not rocket science, but there is no instant substitute. The kind of task you are describing is the very kind of work which serves best as learning exercises.
JET

Similar Messages

How can I get two hand drawn images to line up?

How can I get these two images to line up? I am stumped.....I have used auto-align, scale, etc.....but I get one side right then other side not aligned.

You are dealing here with a difference in image size between the top and bottom sections and perhaps a difference in verticality.
Consider the bottom units. The left side should shift right and the right side should shift left in order to align.
Your next move would be the adjust the size of one of the layers by using Edit > Transform > Scale. Hold down the Option key to maintain proportion.

How do I convert a hand drawn ink image to layers?

I have an hand drawn image in jpg of black lines on white background (similar to line art) and I want to convert the black lines to a layer.
How can I do this?

https://forums.adobe.com/message/6079459#6079459#6079459 http://www.mouseprints.net/old/dpr/KillWhiteActions.zipRe: Perfectly removing a white background
Photoshop Script Black and White Raster to Vector

I am using Photoshop CC, how do I scan an image (hand drawn) into photoshop?

I am using Photoshop CC, how do I scan an image (hand drawn) into photoshop?

Hello,
please have a look at "Photoshop Help/Acquiring images from cameras and scanners" >>>
http://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/acquiring-images-cameras-scanners.html#WSfd1234e1c4 b69f30ea53e41001031ab64-790ca
>>> Importing scanned Images and so too here for some critical responses/voices in
https://forums.adobe.com/thread/1245120
https://forums.adobe.com/message/6152457
Hans-Günter

Ai-cs6 How Do I trace a hand drawn sketch to a single line vector outline?

So I am basically a brand new user to ai-cs6 and have been working on a project for a friend. I've drawn up the basic components of the logo she wants, all separate individual pieces. My intention is/was to trace in each piece, and scale, rotate, and clean them up according to how the final piece should look. Where I'm running into trouble is that the sketches are not point perfect, meaning there's some shading in the hand drawns, and the lines are rough in areas. I'm trying to avoid redrawing the pieces because we both are really happy with where they're at. What I'd like to do with ai-cs6 and I'm hoping this community of creative individuals can help is to trace very simply a one line vector of the outline of the image. So instead of creating a piece that has stroke straight from the scanned in artwork, I get a single line, with multiple points, that flows the simple shape of the piece. From there it seems it would be pretty simple to just increase the stroke weight and modify the style of line to make it look how we would like. All I've succesfully been able to do so far, with the help of some videos and google searching, is to get a traced image that's basically an outline of the sketch. This is o.k. except that since the sketch has some rough line sections ai-cs6 is adding either a lot of detail and making it look pretty rough, or it's missing entire sections and leaving them blank. Any insight and help into getting this figured would be great, I'm gonna roll with what image trace is giving me so I can give her an image of the logo today, but hoping that I can clean it up and get closer to a finished product by next week. Thank you very much I'm grateful that there are discussion forums like this out there to help users of all skill level continue flowing and working with these awesome adobe products.
Max

What you're talking about is generically called autotracing in centerline mode. Most autotrace programs can either try to trace all the way around the areas of dark pixels (outline tracing), or try to trace along the middles of areas of dark pixels (centerline tracing).
In Illustrator's autotrace settings, for centerline mode, you turn off the tracing of outlines (fills) and turn on the tracing of centerlines (strokes). That's the basic setting. From there, you try to adjust the various threshold settings to get as close to what you want as you can.
When Illustrator's autotrace feature is set to try to trace centerlines, it also tries to set the vector path stroke weights to approximate the thicknesses of what it interprets as a stroke. So after the autotracing is done, you can expand it and then globally set the stroke weight to a uniform value.
Beyond that, no one can really advise you more specifically without seeing the specific image involved. Every image is different.
Generally speaking, autotracing is crap. It's an amateurish workaround to avoid doing what should really be done: Trace the paths manually with the drawing tools.
JET

Can I easily make a hand drawn picture look computer drawn?

Hi there
Searching around for an answer, all I found was turning photo into hand drawn looking pic.
Basically, I have a hand drawn picture of a train conductor I want to convert to make it look like it was drawn in photoshop. I have it for a banner for a site, but it looks severely out of place being hand drawn.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers!

There is a lot of ways you can pull this off but it comes down to playing with filters and effects, tweeking color tones and what not. It comes down playing around with it. Make several copies of the same image in layers. tweek em with different filters and effects. sometimes you will find the combo of blending multiple layers to be the look you want.
Is there a make it look hand drawn button? some of the filters will emulate brush strokes and what not but it comes down to how hand drawn you really want it to look.
My suggestions to play with filters layers and blending options till you find something that yells out to you.

Getting the bounds of a drawn image on a panel

Hello, I have a problem with getting the bounds of a drawn image on a panel...Since it is drawn as graphics, i tried getClipBounds and since my class extends JPanel i tried to get the bounds from the panel but neither of them worked properly. It only gets the bounds of a jframe that contains the panel.Then i tried to put the panel in a layeredpane and then a container; but this time the image disappeared completely. Hope someone can help or tell me what I am doing wrong. Thanks in advance. Here is the code below:
By the way what I am trying to do in this code is basically zooming the image in and out by dragging or the mouse wheel. But I need to get the bounds so that I can use this.
* To change this template, choose Tools | Templates
* and open the template in the editor.
* @author Admin
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.Graphics2D;
import java.awt.Image;
import java.awt.Point;
import java.awt.RenderingHints;
import java.awt.Toolkit;
import java.awt.event.MouseEvent;
import java.awt.event.MouseListener;
import java.awt.event.MouseMotionListener;
import java.awt.event.MouseWheelEvent;
import java.awt.event.MouseWheelListener;
import java.awt.geom.AffineTransform;
import java.awt.geom.NoninvertibleTransformException;
import java.awt.geom.Point2D;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLayeredPane;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
public class ZoomDemo extends JPanel {
AffineTransform tx = new AffineTransform();
String imagePath = "D:/Documents and Settings/Admin/Belgelerim/tsrm/resim.jpg";
Image image = Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit().getImage(imagePath);
int width = image.getWidth(this);
int height = image.getHeight(this);
int scrwidth = Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit().getScreenSize().width;
int scrheight = Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit().getScreenSize().height;
double zoomfac = 1.0;
int xAdj;
int yAdj;
int prevY;
double scale = 1.0;
Point pt;
public static int x;
public static int y;
public static int w;
public static int h;
public ZoomDemo() {
this.addMouseWheelListener(new ZoomHandler());
this.addMouseListener(new ZoomHandler());
this.addMouseMotionListener(new ZoomHandler());
repaint();
@Override
public void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
Graphics2D g2 = (Graphics2D) g;
g2.setRenderingHint(RenderingHints.KEY_ANTIALIASING, RenderingHints.VALUE_ANTIALIAS_ON);
g2.drawImage(image, tx, this);
// x =    (int) g2.getClipBounds().getX();
// y=     (int) g2.getClipBounds().getY();
// w=     (int) g2.getClipBounds().getWidth();
// h=     (int) g2.getClipBounds().getHeight();
// System.out.println(x+" "+y+" "+w+" "+h);
// public int getRectx(){
//    return x;
//public int getRecty(){
//    return y;
//public int getRectw(){
//    return w;
//public int getRecth(){
//    return h;
private class ZoomHandler implements MouseWheelListener,MouseListener, MouseMotionListener {
public void mousePressed(MouseEvent e){
    System.out.println("Mouse Pressed");
xAdj = e.getX();
yAdj = e.getY();
prevY = getY();
public void mouseDragged(MouseEvent e){
       System.out.println("Mouse Dragged");
boolean zoomed = false;
if(e.getY()<prevY){
     zoomfac = zoomfac + 0.1;
     prevY = e.getY();
     zoomed = true;
else if(e.getY()>prevY){
     zoomfac = zoomfac - 0.1;
     prevY = e.getY();
     zoomed = true;
   scale = zoomfac;
Point2D p1 = new Point((int)xAdj-(width/2),(int)yAdj-(height/2));
Point2D p2 = null;
try {
p2 = tx.inverseTransform(p1, null);
} catch (NoninvertibleTransformException ex) {
// should not get here
ex.printStackTrace();
return;
tx.setToIdentity();
tx.translate(p1.getX(), p1.getY());
tx.scale(scale, scale);
tx.translate(-p2.getX(), -p2.getY());
tx.transform(p1, p2);
ZoomDemo.this.revalidate();
ZoomDemo.this.repaint();
public void mouseWheelMoved(MouseWheelEvent e) {
if (e.getScrollType() == MouseWheelEvent.WHEEL_UNIT_SCROLL) {
Point2D p1 = e.getPoint();
Point2D p2 = null;
try {
p2 = tx.inverseTransform(p1, null);
} catch (NoninvertibleTransformException ex) {
// should not get here
ex.printStackTrace();
return;
scale -= (0.1 * e.getWheelRotation());
scale = Math.max(0.1, scale);
tx.setToIdentity();
tx.translate(p1.getX(), p1.getY());
tx.scale(scale, scale);
tx.translate(-p2.getX(), -p2.getY());
ZoomDemo.this.revalidate();
ZoomDemo.this.repaint();
        public void mouseClicked(MouseEvent e) {
            //throw new UnsupportedOperationException("Not supported yet.");
        public void mouseReleased(MouseEvent e) {
            //throw new UnsupportedOperationException("Not supported yet.");
        public void mouseEntered(MouseEvent e) {
           // throw new UnsupportedOperationException("Not supported yet.");
        public void mouseExited(MouseEvent e) {
           // throw new UnsupportedOperationException("Not supported yet.");
        public void mouseMoved(MouseEvent e) {
           // throw new UnsupportedOperationException("Not supported yet.");
public static void main(String[] args) {
//SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new ZoomDemo());
int scrwidth = Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit().getScreenSize().width;
int scrheight = Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit().getScreenSize().height;
JFrame f = new JFrame("Zoom");
f.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
f.setSize(scrwidth , scrheight);
//JLayeredPane lp = new JLayeredPane();
//f.add(lp);
ZoomDemo zd = new ZoomDemo();
zd.getBounds();
f.add(zd);
//int x = (int) zd.getX();
//int y = (int) zd.getY();
//int w = (int) zd.getWidth();
//int h = (int) zd.getHeight();
//System.out.println(x+" "+y+" "+w+" "+h);
//zd.setBounds(x ,y ,w ,h );
//lp.add(zd, JLayeredPane.DEFAULT_LAYER);
//f.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
f.setVisible(true);
//lp.setVisible(true);
//zd.setVisible(true);
}Edited by: .mnemonic. on May 26, 2009 11:07 PM
Edited by: .mnemonic. on May 27, 2009 11:00 AM

You'll need a stable point in the component to track and orient to the scaling transform(s).
From this you can construct whatever you need in the way of image location and size.
Let's try a center–of–image tracking point:
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import java.awt.geom.*;
import java.awt.image.BufferedImage;
import javax.swing.*;
import javax.swing.event.MouseInputAdapter;
public class ZD extends JPanel {
    BufferedImage image;
    Point center;
    AffineTransform at = new AffineTransform();
    Point2D.Double origin = new Point2D.Double(0,0);
    public ZD(BufferedImage image) {
        this.image = image;
        center = new Point(image.getWidth()/2, image.getHeight()/2);
    protected void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
        super.paintComponent(g);
        Graphics2D g2 = (Graphics2D)g;
        g2.setRenderingHint(RenderingHints.KEY_INTERPOLATION,
                            RenderingHints.VALUE_INTERPOLATION_BICUBIC);
        g2.drawRenderedImage(image, at);
        g2.setPaint(Color.red);
        g2.fill(new Ellipse2D.Double(origin.x-1.5, origin.y-1.5, 4, 4));
        g2.setPaint(Color.blue);
        g2.fill(new Ellipse2D.Double(center.x-1.5, center.y-1.5, 4, 4));
    private void setTransform(double scale) {
        // keep image centered over Point "center"
        double x = center.x - scale*image.getWidth()/2;
        double y = center.y - scale*image.getHeight()/2;
        origin.setLocation(x, y);
        at.setToTranslation(x, y);
        at.scale(scale, scale);
    public static void main(String[] args) throws java.io.IOException {
        java.net.URL url = ZD.class.getResource("images/hawk.jpg");
        BufferedImage image = javax.imageio.ImageIO.read(url);
        ZD test = new ZD(image);
        JFrame f = new JFrame();
        f.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
        f.add(test);
        f.setSize(500,500);
        f.setLocation(100,100);
        f.setVisible(true);
        test.addMouseListener(test.mia);
        test.addMouseMotionListener(test.mia);
    /** MouseAdapter okay in j2se 1.6+ */
    private MouseInputAdapter mia = new MouseInputAdapter() {
        final double SCALE_INC = 0.05;
        final int SCALE_STEP = 20;
        double scale = 1.0;
        double lastStep;
        public void mousePressed(MouseEvent e) {
            Point p = e.getPoint();
            center.setLocation(p);
            //System.out.printf("center = [%3d, %3d]%n", p.x, p.y);
            setTransform(scale);
            repaint();
        public void mouseDragged(MouseEvent e) {
            // scale up/down with relative vertical motion
            int step = (e.getY() - center.y)/SCALE_STEP;
            if(step != lastStep) {
                scale += SCALE_INC*((step < lastStep) ? -1 : 1);
                //System.out.printf("step = %3d scale = %.3f%n", step, scale);
                setTransform(scale);
                lastStep = step;
                repaint();
}

How to save a drawn image in our own format

hai,
i'm developing a designing tool. in that user can draw any type of diagrams. i have to save the drawn image in my own extention... how can i do it. provide me some sample code if u can...

mituli wrote:
Thanks,
but I am using Image.getScaledImage() to get scaled image(obviously). This returns an Image object. When I call getGraphics() on this object it throws an exception:
Exception in thread "AWT-EventQueue-0" java.lang.UnsupportedOperationException: getGraphics() not valid for images created with createImage(producer) at sun.awt.image.ToolkitImage.getGraphics(ToolkitImage.java:292)Try using createGraphics() instead.
In javadoc i found out that this method can be used only on off-screen image. What is off-screen image?Use BufferedImages, you'll have a lot less problems.
Anyway I can't use this object in ImageIO.write because it requires RenderedImage object which can only be BufferedImage object.
I tried to cast Image to BufferedImage but can't be ... If you need to get your Image painted onto a BufferedImage, you can do it like this:
BufferedImage bi = new BufferedImage(myImageWidth, myImageHeight, BufferedImage.TYPE_INT_RGB);
Graphics2D g = bi.createGraphics();
g.drawImage(myImage, 0, 0, null);

How do I outline hand-drawn type made of multiple strokes?

I designed a logo for some family friends, and the main part of the logo is hand-drawn, and it is made of multiple (a TON) of strokes. The company is getting t-shirts made, and the t-shirt company contacted me to get a "vector file with the fonts outlined." I know quite well how to do this on actual fonts, but have no idea how to outline a series of strokes. Help! Thank you!

Thanks Kurt,
I've already tried that, but since the writing is made of tons of strokes, it only outlines all of those individual strokes and not the whole word.
This is the portion of the logo that is hand-drawn, and what I can't figure out how to outline...
And this shows all of the strokes that go into it (this is when it's selected)... I'm guessing this is part of my problem.

Pointer turns to 'hand' over image while in editor disallowing any access to tool bar. How do I avoid?

Pointer turns to 'hand' over image while in editor disallowing any access to tool bar. How do I avoid?

Hi,
Verify that the Space bar is not pressed or hung.
Hand tool is activated when we have Space bar pressed. You can use it while working on other tools and you need to move the image up/down. You just need to press Space bar in between and releasing it would return to the initially active tool, you were wrokinf on.
Thanks.

How to add hand drawn animation over a video?

Hi,
I am hoping to add hand drawn animation over video footage. For example: Hockey 101 on Vimeo. I understand the way to do it is adding it frame by frame? However this seems like a long process and was hoping something slightly quicker as I do not have long to do this project. I am no expert in after effects so please help me understand the best way of achieving this.
Thanks in advance.

The link you used to have took me to a 21st birthday-themed slideshow...
Anyway, the simplest solution to copy the Hockey 101 video would be to draw something as a shape layer and use the wiggle paths thing to make it look hand-drawn. This way you only need to draw once per shot. If the camera is moving, you can use motion tracking to make the drawing follow the movement.

Filling a hand drawn print with color

Beginner! I am trying to fill a print that has been hand-drawn (b&w) with color. I have traced it and made Live Paint Groups but when I try to color it, it only allows me to color in grays. I know there is an easy answer for this! I have saved the Color Mode as RGB and CMYK but it still converts back to grey when I begin to paint. ??? I am very new to Illustrator and cannot find how I need to save this in order to work with the colors.
Thank you!

When you traced it I assume live Trace did you choose Grayscale as the preset in the Live Trace Options by any chance?

My ipod camera pictures look "hand drawn" or "blurry"

i restored my ipod, updated it, took the case off, and tryed camera fix apps, but when i upload a pic or a vid i took with my ipod onto a computer it looks "hand drawn" or "blurry". It was fine a few months ago but now it's horeble, can someone please help me? p.s. my ipod is not, or ever have been jailbroken so that canot be the problem.

http://ecamm.com/mac/phoneview/
Basic troubleshooting steps
17" 2.2GHz i7 Quad-Core MacBook Pro  8G RAM  750G HD + OCZ Vertex 3 SSD Boot HD 
Got problems with your Apple iDevice-like iPhone, iPad or iPod touch? Try Troubleshooting 101
 In Memory of Steve Jobs 

Hand drawn effect

Can anyone tell what effect's been used to give these paths a hand-drawn look: https://vimeo.com/39926938 (you can see what I mean from about 1.20)?
This looks to be animated with 3d stroke and then the paths have been affected to make them look a bit hand-drawn. I have a load of animated content (with shape layers instead of masks with 3d stroke) and I've just been told I need to make it look hand drawn. I've tried the brush stroke effect but I can't quite achieve what I'm after. My guess is it's some clever wiggle expressions on the width or something but I'm not so hot with expressions so wouldn't know where to start.
Many thanks.

Here's a jump rope animation I made in about 15 minutes by animating the paint tool in After Effects and applying Roughen Edges and Turbulent Displace. I then pre-comped the animation and added Posterize Time at 12fps to make it look like it was shot on twos. I think this technique or a variation will give you a similar look to the example you provided. Let me know if you would like to see a copy of the AE project file and I can email it to you.
Also, Light Writing Part 1 and Part 2 are older tutorials from Creative Cow leader Aharon Rabinowitz but they share some timeless tips and workflows for using fractal noise in conjunction with displacement maps to wiggle static graphics for a more hand-drawn feel.
You can also find information and tutorials for giving motion graphics a more hand-drawn feel by visiting my blog: http://benmarkus.wordpress.com/

Can Keynote animate hand-drawn tablet sketches?

Hello,
I was wondering if it was possibly to hook up a Wacom tablet and draw my slides in Keynote. I want to present slides with hand-drawn animations and audio in the same manner as Google's Chrome OS video presentations: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QRO3gKj3qw
Thanks in advance!
davy

I would agree, that video/animation was probably made with video editing software judging by some of the transitions. Do not dispair, you can get close to this using line drawings. I would use a lot of photoshop, and .png files as well as a lot of the disolve transitions to make things appear and disappear. You can now do some tweening using the magic transition in keynote 9.0. It would be close, would wow the PC crowd, but would not fool the CGI techs. But then how many of those are likely to see your presentation?

Perfecting Hand Drawn Images

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for