leenapink

So that's with the new Ill CS2 live trace.... Nice...It's about time it was added to ILL!...It reminds me of how long it took for PS to get text on a path! Cool.

A common picture done with the different softwares would be interesting.

Lasa

Raven

Yeah, Welles, in Ill CS2 it looks like the new vectorizer feature works very nicely. All these various apps have differing ways and choices of what they pick out in colors/shapes and vectorize. Vector Eye tries for a simplified way and excludes some details in favor of varying looks. I would expect Ill CS2, etc. to be able to do more detailed vectorization for the cost.

Here's something you can test Ill CS2 or other vector apps on if you want. This is a vector drawing I did in XaraX (no tracer app of any type used, just drawn out in Xara's vector app "by hand" if you will)...so this pic is very line intensive. How well can the vectorizer in Ill CS2, or Adobe Streamline, etc. do in copying it????????

Gametamer

I'll have to download a demo of your vector tracer, Raven! Nice renders [righton]

While we're on it, I use Streamline 3 for cartooning (SL 4 is a tad too feature-rich for what I need). I do a pen and ink, scan it, clear off the pencil using PS, then Streamline the scan. From there, I'll use colored shapes for fills in Xara. I don't think Xara or CorelDraw's bitmap tracers compare to Streamline.

BTW, Streamline was originally engineered by Andromeda Software, who don't always have hits like Alien Skin does, but they make a nifty 3D plug-in for Photoshop. It's large on HD, and not really cheap, but here are some results.

My Best,

Gare

leenapink

Raven, I used Streamline 4 on "ultra detail". Considering that the Wolf file was at least 2rd or 3rd generation jpg prior to being vectorized I think it did ok.

SL4 made a 8349 paths!
Left original / right vectorized from bit map.

Lasa

Welles

Here's the Illustrator CS2 Live Trace version...

Raven

[righton] :} :} Wow Gare, Lasa and Welles! Those are great! And depending on what sort of look one needs or prefers for the output I'd have to say also that Ill CS2's detail accuracy is just amazing, truly there have been some real improvements!!! Wish it didn't cost nearly $500 ...but looking at that amount of usefulness in the new CS2 version it looks really worth the cost for extreme detail work vectorization. Very exciting results!!! 8D

I'm most impressed! :} :} Now I guess I'll have to start saving up for a version of Illustrator! [bustagut] [bustagut]

I looked at Gare's wonderful ones also done with Streamline but I see it isn't for Win XP...so that's something I have to pass by.

Great comparisons and variety of vectorized appearances guys! [righton]

leenapink

Welles that's unbelievable I would not have expected that big a diff.!
Don't make me get IllCS2!...I'm hearing voices again... they make me do things..."Buy IllCS twoooooooo...."

Lasa

Raven

[bustagut] Lasa I'm in the same boat! Yep, I think that new Live Trace feature alone could be worth the cost....after looking around I find there's other apps that claim to be able to do such detail...but they are even MORE expensive. [shocked] So, I think I'll put Ill CS2 on my wish list and save up for it. I think I could get used to it's other methods gradually and features too after using Xara, at least I have some notion of using vectors to start with. And if I find, like you, that Ill. just gives me headaches for other purposes, I can still use Sodipodi and Xara for whatever else to fill in with.

I'm just amazed at the new Live Trace ability -- how cool!!! 8D