Efficient methods to clean up vector art

Question

I have this artwork I was sent for a product and I need to clean up the lines and all these overlapping lines.

I can't get the client to go back to the designer for new art so I'm stuck with what I've got which is a lovely Compound Path.

Manually I COULD go through, delete points, rejoin open paths, and go on for an eternity but I'm looking for methods that would be quicker.

Here's what I'm working with.

The end product will be colored to several pallets and then printed, and made into products etc.

---

I'm looking for NON-PLUGIN alternative methods. I know Astute Graphics has some wonderful tools but I'm looking for cost-effective methods.

Answer 1

if you don't need stroke to edit means just shape based object , just expand all your strokes by selecting all artwork and going to object > expand. after that you can use shape builder tool. like images,i have attached.you can drag over shape to join them in single shape hold alt to remove extra shapes

Answer 2

I don't think it's possible to automate any sort of cleanup based upon what you've posted.

Unfortunately it appears as though all the artwork was created using brushes without care for how they ended/started leaving some misalignments and "blobs" at the ends, and then all strokes have been expanded, and finally everything seems to have been merged creating a compound shape.

Starting from the final merged shape, I can think of nothing other than manual cleanup to correct the visual inconsistencies.

There may be some manual methods making things easier. For example, drawing white strokes/shapes to cover areas which extend beyond where they should then using pathfinder to merge again - resulting in cleaner edges. I find it easier for me to draw shapes as opposed to selecting path sections, removing them and reconnecting things.

Heck, even redrawing it entirely may be faster than trying to clean it up. I would realistically look at that as my first option.

---

All this being posted, if the client isn't concerned about quality, you don't necessarily need to be overly concerned with it either. If that's the art they sent, you'd be well within your right to use what they sent - good or bad. Of course, you may feel assisting in improving clear inconsistencies is the "right thing to do". I know that would absolutely be my inclination. But it honestly may come down to a workload vs cost/time issue on your end. There may be hours and hours of work there depending upon the final size. Whether or not you can "comp" that time I wouldn't know.

Answer 3

As Scott mentioned Doing it manually would produce the best results, it would also take a while.

Doing it manually

You could potentially use the path eraser tool and/or the direct selection tool to select and manually move each and every anchor point

---

If you want it to go faster you would need to use a plugin. I know you said you were looking for a cheaper way, however:

Time = Money

Note: Astute Graphics usually offers a free 14 day trial for their plugins so you can try them out.