trouble with vectors

[Cicio]

I'm trying to trace these designs for a large poster but I don't know how to straighten out the imperfections on the curls and tips. I think I have a better chance getting it right with the pencil than the pen tool because of the curls. But is there some easy way of getting pen traces to look perfectly smooth besides the smooth tool? It's tough to get the smooth tool to do what you want. And when you expand it to say 50 inches, you really notice the imperfections. Are there any special techniques or tools the pros use to get it right?

Any help appreciated

 

[adamblan]

If you're doing this for a large format poster, vector is the only way to go - that's why you're noticing imperfections @ 50"

I'd drop the pencil & pick up the pen - yes, it will take time + effort, but the results will be far better

 

[AE7]

Open the image in Illustrator then go to Objects>Live Trace and resize the image to your liking...

 

[wetgravy]

livetrace rarely works effeciently with those really small images. Grab your pen tool and start outlining. Its the best skill to pickup.

 

[nighthawks]

Import this graphic in Corel, you will get perfect result.

 

[wetgravy]

http://www.vectordoctor.com/

a good simple service that can vector things for you if you don't have the time or don't have the finesse.

as for a tracing program, forget corel draws trace program and illustrators livetrace. they don't work properly on tiny images or multiple colors, especially if there is any compression in the image. Find the program "inkscape" it is free and uses an open source trace script called "potrace" that is excellent. I have yet to encounter the extensive point clean up jobs that i have from other programs, when i use inkscape.

Your best bet is to pull out the pen tool and do the work yourself (or teach yourself how to)