Placing and Tracing Images

Placing Images

• To place an image in Illustrator, go to File > Place or use the shortcut Shift + Ctrl + P (Windows) or Shift + Command + P (Mac);
• You can choose whether to link the image or embed it in the project:
  • Linked Image: The image is linked to its source. If the source is deleted or moved, the image will no longer be visible in the project. This method keeps the file size smaller;
  • Embedded Image: The image is included within the Illustrator file, meaning it is part of the project itself. This makes the file size larger but ensures the image stays intact even if the original is deleted or moved;
• After placing an image, you can click and drag to adjust the size or place it at full size by clicking once;
• To resize while maintaining proportions, hold Shift while dragging the corner handles;
• Linked images have a cross mark to indicate they are linked;
• If you want to embed a previously linked image, select it and click Embed in the Properties panel;
• If you want to unembed the image, you can do so, but you'll need to save it as a different format like PSD or TIFF.

Image Tracing (Vectorization)

• Choose the image you want to vectorize, then go to the Properties Panel and click on Image Trace. You can also find this option under Object > Image Trace > Make;
• Illustrator offers different presets (e.g., 3 colors, 6 colors, black and white, etc.).
• For a simple logo with a limited color palette, select the preset that best matches;
• After applying the trace, you can fine-tune the Image Trace settings by clicking on the Image Trace panel icon and adjusting settings, like increasing colors, paths, or corners, depending on the complexity of the logo;
• For black-and-white logos, you'll see a Threshold slider instead of a color option. Adjust the threshold to balance the black and white areas;
• Once traced, the image is not fully editable as vector shapes. You need to expand it by clicking the Expand button in the Properties panel. Expanding separates the traced image into individual objects, which you can then ungroup and edit separately;
• After expanding, ungroup the traced elements by pressing Ctrl + Shift + G (Windows) or Command + Shift + G (Mac). You can then select individual parts of the image, move them, change their colors, or scale them as needed;
• If an image has a white background that you want to remove, use the Ignore White option in the Image Trace panel. This will remove the background, leaving only the logo;
• After vectorizing, you can change the color of the elements by selecting them and going to the Appearance panel. This allows for full customization, including applying gradients or other effects.

Some Pro Tips

• Image Trace is helpful when you don't have the original vector file but need to create a scalable version of a logo or simple graphic;
• Image Trace works best with simple designs like logos or illustrations;
• It may not work well with complex images, like photographs or images with gradients, as tracing these can produce undesirable results;
• Make a copy of the image you want to trace in your project in case you ever want to re-trace it any time.