bubblegummy
08-25-2003, 12:25 PM
I know a lot of people are always asking about how to make vectors, and in my experience the tutorials I've seen have always been difficult to understand and stuff, so... here you go =) This is designed for PSP 7. You'll need the tool options palette and layer palette open - go to View > Toolbars if you can't see either of these.
1. Open the image you want to vector, and make a new raster layer. Use the freehand tool with the point to point selection (0 feather), and trace around the hair on the person you want to vector. Try and get it as precise as possible. Use the dropper tool to pick up a colour that looks hair-like, and fill in the selection.
2. Make a new raster layer. Pick a colour that's just a shade lighter than the hair colour, and, using the same selection tool you just used, select pieces of hair from the parting area to the ends, to form highlights. Do this all over the hair - it might help if you make layer 1 invisible so you can see what you're doing =P
3. Make another raster layer. Trace around the shape of the face with the selection tool, and, with a fleshy colour, fill it in. Make sure your layer palette's open, and move this third layer so it's underneath the first one - NOT behind the background.
4. On a new raster layer, shade in one of the edges of the face by using the selection tool and filling it in with paint a little darker than the colour you just used. Try and get it to look as subtle as possible.
5. Make another layer, and this time we're going to make the nose. Make all other layers invisible apart from the background (use the little glasses that you see next to the name of each layer on the layer palette.) The facial features will only become better with practise, so you can expect your first nose to look deformed and such. Trace around the edge you can see with the selection tool, and fill it in with a darker colour compared to the skin. Carry on in this way, selecting the bits of nose which you can see are shaded on the original image.
6. When you're finished with the nose, make another new layer and use the selection tool to trace around the lips. Colour it in with a colour selected using the dropper tool. If the mouth is close, find the line that separates the two lips and trace that, colouring it in a darker colour than the colour you just used. From there, select pieces of each lip and gradually build up, using shades which VERY gradually get lighter - drastic differences in colour WILL show. If you're vectoring a face which has the mouth open (showing teeth) you want to colour the teeth in an off-white colour (white looks too bright, a little scary) and shade each one in a very light grey.
7. Make a new layer... this time we're doing the eyes x.x This is where I always go wrong, heh. Select the white parts of the eyes and fill it in, then shade them at the bottom with a very light grey. Make a new layer, and draw around the pupil AND the coloury bit. Fill that in with the colour that the eye is (blue, green, hazel, that sort of thing) Then make the layer you're on invisible, and draw around the black part of the eye. Make the layer visible again, and fill that in with the dark colour that you want.
8. For the eyelashes, make a new layer. If you can't see the eyelashes very well on the image you're using, trace round the outside of your eye with the selection tool and draw subtle, imaginary lashes. Fill them in with a dark colour - not black, it can look too bold.
9. Finally, make another layer, and trace around the eyebrows. Fill them in with a colour you found using the dropper tool.
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And that's basically it... or not so basically, heh. Once you get better at vectoring, try adding more shading to the areas you can see - foreheads and cheeks tend to be lighter. Try using larger images, as these are much easier to vector =)
1. Open the image you want to vector, and make a new raster layer. Use the freehand tool with the point to point selection (0 feather), and trace around the hair on the person you want to vector. Try and get it as precise as possible. Use the dropper tool to pick up a colour that looks hair-like, and fill in the selection.
2. Make a new raster layer. Pick a colour that's just a shade lighter than the hair colour, and, using the same selection tool you just used, select pieces of hair from the parting area to the ends, to form highlights. Do this all over the hair - it might help if you make layer 1 invisible so you can see what you're doing =P
3. Make another raster layer. Trace around the shape of the face with the selection tool, and, with a fleshy colour, fill it in. Make sure your layer palette's open, and move this third layer so it's underneath the first one - NOT behind the background.
4. On a new raster layer, shade in one of the edges of the face by using the selection tool and filling it in with paint a little darker than the colour you just used. Try and get it to look as subtle as possible.
5. Make another layer, and this time we're going to make the nose. Make all other layers invisible apart from the background (use the little glasses that you see next to the name of each layer on the layer palette.) The facial features will only become better with practise, so you can expect your first nose to look deformed and such. Trace around the edge you can see with the selection tool, and fill it in with a darker colour compared to the skin. Carry on in this way, selecting the bits of nose which you can see are shaded on the original image.
6. When you're finished with the nose, make another new layer and use the selection tool to trace around the lips. Colour it in with a colour selected using the dropper tool. If the mouth is close, find the line that separates the two lips and trace that, colouring it in a darker colour than the colour you just used. From there, select pieces of each lip and gradually build up, using shades which VERY gradually get lighter - drastic differences in colour WILL show. If you're vectoring a face which has the mouth open (showing teeth) you want to colour the teeth in an off-white colour (white looks too bright, a little scary) and shade each one in a very light grey.
7. Make a new layer... this time we're doing the eyes x.x This is where I always go wrong, heh. Select the white parts of the eyes and fill it in, then shade them at the bottom with a very light grey. Make a new layer, and draw around the pupil AND the coloury bit. Fill that in with the colour that the eye is (blue, green, hazel, that sort of thing) Then make the layer you're on invisible, and draw around the black part of the eye. Make the layer visible again, and fill that in with the dark colour that you want.
8. For the eyelashes, make a new layer. If you can't see the eyelashes very well on the image you're using, trace round the outside of your eye with the selection tool and draw subtle, imaginary lashes. Fill them in with a dark colour - not black, it can look too bold.
9. Finally, make another layer, and trace around the eyebrows. Fill them in with a colour you found using the dropper tool.
---
And that's basically it... or not so basically, heh. Once you get better at vectoring, try adding more shading to the areas you can see - foreheads and cheeks tend to be lighter. Try using larger images, as these are much easier to vector =)