How to convert a raster image into vector?

Question

I'm trying to convert a icon from .psd format to vector. Here is my .psd file snapshot.

This is my converted(Vector) file snapshot after live trace.

I mean it has lot of blurs. I need pixel perfect result. How can i achieve that. Illustrator live trace allows only upto 256 colors?. What should i do if my source file has more than 256 colors?

Thanks

Answer 1

Live Trace doesn't do gradients, so can only work with discrete colors (hence the banding). The engineering involved in working with arbitrary numbers of colors would be horrendously complex, involving from-the-ground-up rewriting of Illustrator (there are limits on the number of individual vectors in one document).

To convert this image you would bring it into illustrator, trace the paths with the Pen tool, then use Gradient Mesh in conjunction with the eyedropper tool to recreate the gradients on your vector layers. There are myriad tutorials out there on the web. This one from vectortuts covers exactly what you need to do. Google "gradient mesh illustrator tutorial" for the >1,000 others.

Answer 2

I'd say AI's livetrace did a commendable job on that. That's about as good as you're going to get with any automated tool.

You'll want to re-created it by hand for anything better. Looking at the original, I'd start with a donut shape with the gradient colors you want, then add translucent layers on top for the highlights.

As for pixel-perfect results, well, that's what raster images are--pixels. Vector illustrations have no concept of pixels.

Answer 3

You could have better results using Vectorizer (free) for example. It has a great option that allows you to create gradients (you have to select the paths that you want to merge, and the type of gradient). The result is not “pixel perfect”, but it's a little better than Illustrator's effect I think. I upscaled the original PNG before converting it into SVG to have a better accuracy. We could get better results than this, but I think it's quite impossible to get all the details and subtleties with an automatic process (e. g. the shadow of the object went a bit weird). I nevertheless found that, even if it's not perfect, Vectorizer is one of the best raster to vector converter.