Inscape Photo to Outline Design

[nsboost]

I have been following , tried your coral draw resize 300 to 900 went ok , 900 to 1200 crashed my computer .
Looks like it would work with enough computer .

The first day of learning my way around CorelDraw I clicked something inadvertently that caused the program to buffer, then finally crash. No clue what I did but like you say that moment made me realize that 'processing power' could be imperative in some applications. I don't have a fancy computer, just an ASUS laptop I've used for CAD drawing nearly nine years now.

I wanted to see what would happen if I pushed my sample pic up to 1200 and it processed fine in about 10 seconds however I get the feeling more colorful and complex images will take more graphics memory.

Thankfully we live in a time that processing power and memory is cheap and plentiful. I recently built a pc with 64gigs of DDR5... top of the line intel processor (without going into workstation models), fast motherboard with lots of bandwidth, yada yada. I was basically right at a grand out the door.

GPUs are the problem with pc components. I picked up a second hand GTX2080ti for $200. Powerful but.. it is aging. Its completely ridiculous that a top of the line gaming gpu (not even a workstation gpu) is nearly $2000. Now that gpu isn't necessarily needed... but... its price point is still ridiculous and about double what it should be IMHO

Now one thing i have run into recently is drivers issues. Seems odd as i havent had this many issues in 20 years. But as of late, windows updates seem to break things.. often.

[adbuch]

I tried using the CorelDraw resample per Ben's instruction. This is what I came up with. Not as nice as the one Ben did.

Ben - which tool did you use to remove the original background and add the black background?

Thanks,
David

I tried it by adding the black background first, then resample with CorelDraw. The teeth look a little better.

[ben de lappe]

I tried using the CorelDraw resample per Ben's instruction. This is what I came up with. Not as nice as the one Ben did.
Ben - which tool did you use to remove the original background and add the black background?
Thanks,
David

I used the Smart Selection Mask tool to cut the background out and the black background I achieved by clicking Matte and from the drop down menu selected black. This allows one to make the background any color. In this instance I've chosen blue.

[adbuch]

Thanks Ben! I will have a look. I have been using this one for background removal.

https://www.remove.bg/

David

[adbuch]

David, here is a picture of my dog, maybe you can get me going in the right direction making outlines from a photo in Inkscape. I am a new one to Inkscape, and I cant even trace an image by hand. Thank you for spending your time to look as this.


0.jpg

There is a simple method to accomplish this using a combination of Paint.net and Inkscape. The original photo you provided will work fine for this method. I'm no artist, but I think you can get the basics of the process from my example. You can always go back and edit to try different things to achieve the best result for you.

Also - I created a google slide show of the screen shots I posted below.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/xqsSiz12rUjnTnpP9

First open your jpeg file with Paint.net.

Then follow the steps below.

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[adbuch]

https://photos.app.goo.gl/xqsSiz12rUjnTnpP9

[plasmanewbie]

Watched the vid hoping to learn a magical technique to make tracing easier but this technique is only good to create bitmap images it seems. I suppose you are doing an auto trace of that bitmap in Inkscape when your done in Paint.net. Do you find this is is better than just doing manual trace in Inkscape and skipping the whole Paint.net step?

[adbuch]

Watched the vid hoping to learn a magical technique to make tracing easier but this technique is only good to create bitmap images it seems. I suppose you are doing an auto trace of that bitmap in Inkscape when your done in Paint.net. Do you find this is is better than just doing manual trace in Inkscape and skipping the whole Paint.net step?

For portraits this method may be more useful for a number of reasons. In the video below, he is using Adobe Illustrator. The same techniques can be applied using Paint.net. Yes - it is a 2-step process - as far as I can tell. In order to keep the stroke width set with AI or Paint.net, save as jpeg and auto trace with Inkscape, CorelDraw, etc.

David

https://fb.watch/rugDUUtB48/

[ben de lappe]

Watched the vid hoping to learn a magical technique to make tracing easier but this technique is only good to create bitmap images it seems. I suppose you are doing an auto trace of that bitmap in Inkscape when your done in Paint.net. Do you find this is is better than just doing manual trace in Inkscape and skipping the whole Paint.net step?

The following is from a paint and trace noob so take it for what it's worth.

From what I can gather it's likely a three step process now as image quality can be resampled to a higher resolution giving paint and trace features something better to work with from the start. While I'm a hand trace guy and nothing but I've put this feature to use and am loving it because I no longer have to put up with highly pixelated images to work from and the resulting headache.

Will I become a trace and straightener? I can't see it happening. Mainly because each of the steps is an artform of it's own and I'm so set in my drawing ways. I'll just continue to experiment with different programs finding features that help me to pull out details and represent things as I see fit. Case in point Inkscape filter Duochrome. Sometimes it'll help me bring out details and patterns I'd otherwise have a hard time seeing.

[adbuch]

Watched the vid hoping to learn a magical technique to make tracing easier but this technique is only good to create bitmap images it seems. I suppose you are doing an auto trace of that bitmap in Inkscape when your done in Paint.net. Do you find this is is better than just doing manual trace in Inkscape and skipping the whole Paint.net step?

The following is from a paint and trace noob so take it for what it's worth.

From what I can gather it's likely a three step process now as image quality can be resampled to a higher resolution giving paint and trace features something better to work with from the start. While I'm a hand trace guy and nothing but I've put this feature to use and am loving it because I no longer have to put up with highly pixelated images to work from and the resulting headache.

Will I become a trace and straightener? I can't see it happening. Mainly because each of the steps is an artform of it's own and I'm so set in my drawing ways. I'll just continue to experiment with different programs finding features that help me to pull out details and represent things as I see fit. Case in point Inkscape filter Duochrome. Sometimes it'll help me bring out details and patterns I'd otherwise have a hard time seeing.

Ben - please provide the link to the information you quoted. I would like to read the entire article so I don't take any of what you quoted out of context.
Thanks,
David

[ben de lappe]

David- There is no link to post. The paint trace noob I referred to is myself.

[adbuch]

Thanks Ben! From your post it sounds like you have used this feature (paint/trace) for some of your projects. Is the image (before/after) you posted one of them?
David

[ben de lappe]

Most welcome David. Nice work with the samples and videos, quite informative and interesting. Results are all that matter and those are very nice indeed.

Over the past couple of months I've been playing with CorelDraw. My goal is to learn to draw in it as comfortably as I do with TM CAD. While I'm nowhere near that happening yet, as stated in my post above I will experiment with a number of programs basically exploiting any feature I can find that will help me to see details or patterns in images that are otherwise difficult to discern. One of my 'exploited' features is in Inkscape. It's achieved by selecting Filters, then Color from the drop down menu and Duochrome from the next. This allows one to swap color and alpha which yields this almost negative appearance which I can now trace by hand. I don't use this on every file, just those difficult buggers where interior details can be hard to see.

Another free program I've dabbled with is Davinci Resolve. While to me it's a complicated full feature video editing platform I've found it quite handy for images. If a client sends an image that's skewed or tilted I can actually maneuver it into a more straight on shot instantly guaranteeing a better finished product. Especially where symmetry is concerned. Or as seen in this screenshot really mess it up.

CorelDraw being full graphic design software also has many features that are way above my paygrade. I do however enjoy learning it and in my search for videos to assist in learning have run across many things that are intriguing to me to say the least. One of which is quite simple, applying an image to an object as I've done in this D logo with flying laser sparks. Probably quite amateur overall but good enough for me to replace my old Tactical Air Command avatar I've used here since 2009. Resample is the one feature I've used most and I do enjoy being able to crop images here.

For 3-D I'm trying to learn Blender. Another free open source program that I'd like to utilize for giving my drawings depth, even textures and such. With the steepest learning curve I've experienced will take me some time.

In this process of learning I have tried with zero success to auto trace a high resolution color image in CorelDraw. Granted, I haven't put my all into it but the sheer number of settings involved to limit the number of colors, set appropriate amount of detail and corner smoothness take practice and skill. Not to mention the multiple ways this program can trace. I have noticed that my trace results are smooth and not jagged, also not overloaded with nodes but Good Grief..... I can just whip out the pen tool and draw the sucker.

All this is my way of giving my product an edge though I really wonder how long I've got before AI renders me obsolete.

[adbuch]

Ben - Thanks for your kind words and for providing some insight into some of the new programs and techniques you are working with. I will most definitely have a look! Lots of great information to digest here.

David

[plasmanewbie]

Great info Ben, I have used Corel for very long time and find I don't stray too often but great to get outside of your "box" and try new things. Will check these out. BTW your new avatar looks pretty slick! Nice job.

[ben de lappe]

Ben - Thanks for your kind words and for providing some insight into some of the new programs and techniques you are working with. I will most definitely have a look! Lots of great information to digest here.
David

Most welcome David, I'm always happy to share my methods. The knowledge you guys posses regarding g-code, electronics and the like amazes me and I learn something from you guys all the time.

[ben de lappe]

Great info Ben, I have used Corel for very long time and find I don't stray too often but great to get outside of your "box" and try new things. Will check these out. BTW your new avatar looks pretty slick! Nice job.

Thanks newbie! I'm really liking CorelDraw and can see why you seldom stray. If I can get to the point where I can draw node by node and on the fly change between node types ( cusp/curve etc.) I'm not going to stray much either. And I do believe I've run across a video showing an exercise for muscle memory to do just that.

[adbuch]

Great info Ben, I have used Corel for very long time and find I don't stray too often but great to get outside of your "box" and try new things. Will check these out. BTW your new avatar looks pretty slick! Nice job.

If I can get to the point where I can draw node by node and on the fly change between node types ( cusp/curve etc.) I'm not going to stray much either. And I do believe I've run across a video showing an exercise for muscle memory to do just that.

Ben - please share the link to the video you mention.
Thanks,
David

[ben de lappe]

If I can get to the point where I can draw node by node and on the fly change between node types ( cusp/curve etc.) I'm not going to stray much either. And I do believe I've run across a video showing an exercise for muscle memory to do just that.

Ben - please share the link to the video you mention.
Thanks,
David

David
I'm not certain this is the video I ran across the other day as I did not save it unfortunately. However it is basically the same information.

[adbuch]

Thanks Ben! I will have a look.
David

[adbuch]

Ben - I took a look. I'm no expert by any means - I became interested in CorelDraw a few years ago when Julie showed some demos using the B-Spline tool with an older version. I think it was x7 or x8. It's a shame that Inkscape doesn't have that tool. The video shows using the Bezier tool. I personally find that tool very hard to use for my purposes. My only problem using the B-Spline tool is when I come to a sharp corner where I would like to place a corner node as opposed to a smooth node (my terminology may be wrong). That was easy to do using my TMcad software - but I haven't figured out to do it with CorelDraw. What I have typically done is to place 2 nodes very close together when I reach a corner, and then I can do a straight line to the next location.

The last actual project I did using CorelDraw was to trace a hawk using the B-Spine tool. Once finished in CorelDraw - I saved as svg and imported to Inkcscape to node edit to achieve my desired result. The trace was from a photo I took of a metal hawk at one of the local parks. The project turned out great - and these were Christmas gifts for family members.

David

[ben de lappe]

David - Yes, as I'm learning and practicing a bit this morning the Bezier tool in Corel is basically the same thing as the Arc Edit tool in TM CAD. I only use that in certain situations where smooth repeatable arcs are the nature of the file. Otherwise I use the Node Edit tool where (as you know) once placed a node can be changed to corner, curve, broken, or connected with a right click of the mouse. That alone is incredibly useful but to me the one aspect of node editing I'm missing the most is how the nodes behave. It's as though they are weighted and have a certain pull when manipulated and that right there is where my style comes from.

A couple of years ago in one of my conversations with Julie I asked if one could draw in Corel as I do node by node. Her reply was "I think so." And she may have been correct as this morning, for the first time I've traced by hand this simple combine profile with the Polyline tool. While I don't have the function down just yet it did feel a lot more intuitive. Though I did have to come back with the shape tool to add curvature for tires etc. as you can see in this screenshot the Polyline tool "Draws connected curves and straight lines in one continuous action." Perhaps a good video on the Polyline tool will do some good.

[adbuch]

[adbuch]

It's as though they are weighted and have a certain pull when manipulated and that right there is where my style comes from.

Ben - would you please expand on that. What do you mean that "It's as though they are weighted and have a certain pull when manipulated"?
Are you making a comparison between TMCad and CorelDraw? Could you show an example contrasting the behavior between TMCad and CorelDraw?

I am very interested to know how this affects your style.

Thanks,
David