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, 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;
• To embed a previously linked image, select it and click Embed in the Properties panel;
• To unembed the image it is needed to save it as a different format like PSD or TIFF.

Image Tracing (Vectorization)

• Choose the image 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, 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, use 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. It needs to expanded by clicking the Expand button in the Properties panel. Expanding separates the traced image into individual objects, which can be ungrouped and edited separately;
• After expanding, ungroup the traced elements by pressing Ctrl + Shift + G (Windows) or Command + Shift + G (Mac). 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 need to be removed, use the Ignore White option in the Image Trace panel. This will remove the background, leaving only the logo;
• After vectorizing, 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 there is no 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 that need to be traced in the project in case you ever want to re-trace it any time.