Have you ever tried to utilize a raster image (JPEG, PNG) in Illustrator but couldn’t use the Pathfinder tools or drag your pattern into the Swatches panel because you couldn’t use the Pathfinder tools or drag your way into the Swatches panel? Some devices will not work with raster images (JPGs, PNGs); therefore, you’ll have to vectorize them first.
This Illustrator tutorial demonstrates how to vectorize watercolors. This will make it easy for you to scale your watercolors and create patterns with them.
Watercolor textures and images can have a lot of detail; thus, your vector files will be pretty significant. It’s critical to balance watercolor vector quality and file size.
When working with watercolors, especially when creating patterns, he prefers to use Photoshop. However, knowing how to vectorize watercolors in Illustrator is an intelligent concept in case you require larger graphics in the future. You can get watercolor vector free from some online platforms too.
Illustrator tutorial on how to vectorize watercolors
• In Illustrator, open your watercolor painting.
• The watercolor texture you’ll be using was scanned at 300 DPI and cleaned in Photoshop before being used. The image was then saved as a transparent background PNG and opened in Illustrator.
• Click on the arrow next to Image Trace to select the watercolor. Using the drop-down option, choose High Fidelity Photo. Tracing the image can take a long because most watercolors have so many intricacies.
• Once the image has been vectorized, navigate to Windows > Image Trace or click on the icon to enter the Image Trace panel. To see all of the choices, click the arrow next to Advanced. When using Illustrator to vectorize watercolors, keep track of how many paths, anchors, and colors you have. At the bottom of the Image Trace panel, you’ll notice this. Your file will grow in size as additional paths and colors are added. Because high-resolution watercolors can contain a lot of colors and details, your files may be hundreds of megabytes in size. The watercolor texture you used in this article was scaled in Photoshop, so it’s a small file, but you won’t change it much.
• Increase the number of colors, for example. Use the Color slider to increase the saturation to 95% or even 100%.
• You can also change the number of Paths if you want to. If you move the slider too far up, your file may be too large. If you don’t have enough paths, your vector may have empty sections.
• Close the Image Trace panel and click Expand when you’re satisfied with your vector’s appearance.
• When you vectorize watercolors, the background of the vector will become white, even if the watercolors have a transparent background.
• Click on the white background using the Direct Selection (A) tool, then press Delete.
• Next, you’ll build a black background with the Rectangle Tool (M). This will allow me to notice any white edges and any empty spaces. If there are any white edges, pick them with the Direct Selection tool and eliminate them.
• The last step is to use color to fill in the blank spaces.
• To achieve this, pick each object next to the empty spaces and then fill the areas using the Brush, Pencil, or even the Delete Anchor Point tool.
• Some of these spaces are pretty small, and you can choose whether to fill them or leave them empty.
• After you’re satisfied with your watercolor vector, save it as an.ai or.eps file.
Final Words…!!!
Your finished vector will seem identical to the original watercolor. Still, you’ll be able to scale it to any size and use it in any Illustrator project if you vectorize watercolors. Do your best online search to get watercolor vector free.
