Is it possible to convert a jpg ima

[tviman]

Is it possible to convert a jpg image into a vector object? I've checked the help file and can't find what I'm looking for.

I have a leaf image whose edges are very jagged and I need to clean up and smooth out the edges. But I need to blow the image up to a very large size to do so. In the jpg format, the edges get so pixilated that I can't work with it.

Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions. There's always a better way...

 

[blueark]

Only way to do this in PSP is manually, I'm afraid.

However, there are other applications that can do it for you. Here's a pretty comprehensive list:

http://graphicssoft.about.com/cs/bitmaptovector/

 

[mThomas]

You can not convert a jpg to a vector object in psp or any other program. There are ( the link blueark provided ) several programs that will convert bitmap images to a black and white ( grey scale ) image. These programs will not convert to color. They are very limited in their ability. You can save your jpg in bitmat format and then use one of those programs to create a vector outline.

In PSP you would need to trace the image as a vector object.

mike

 

[tviman]

Thanks for the ideas and advice. I was hoping I could change my jpg to a vector graphic and increase the size to a point where I could easily clean the edges of the graphic. Looks like I'm going to have to do it the hard way.

Thanks again for the help! There's always a better way...

 

[moirakris]

Try this for removing Jagged edges in PSP

Withthe marching ants around your image go to selections-modify-contract-1;

then go to selections-modify-feather-2;
then invert the selection and hit the delete key about 4 or 5 times.

Hope this helps some
Moira Moira
"Those that stop learning, stop living."

 

[blueark]

mThomas:
It's been a few years since I used any of these programs, but I do know that Adobe Streamline does convert color images. I don't know what formats it accepts (it's certainly not limited to bmp files), but if you have PSP, you can convert to something usable anyway. You are right about their limited capabilities, thought, and the results can vary a lot, depending on the source image.

 

[mThomas]

blueark,

OK, I stand corrected. *g* That's what I get for not checking the new features of Streamline. Yes it will convert colors.

It is a little missleading to say that a program converts a jpg to vector. Streamline like other conversion programs "map" through a sequence of commands or mathematical statements that place lines and shapes in a given two-dimensional or three-dimensional space. A .jpeg image can not be a vector once saved. You can use other extensions to create a vector data file and continue to have the vector objects accessible after saving and re-opening like PSP's .psp extension.

The bitmap format is similar to the Metafile format in that it stores a picture as a set of descriptions or definitions of all components of the image. The bitmap format is more limited than the Metafile format in that the bitmap only stores a "passive" representation of pixels. However, this format does allow the "conversion" or "re-conversion" to a geometric/vector data file.

mike

 

[blueark]

I think you're misinterpreting my post. When I say you can convert a jpeg to vector, I mean it in the same sense that you can convert a scan of text via OCR to actual text. Of course it's a different type of file after conversion, and as such, there are more appropriate formats to store it in. The resulting file shouldn't be saved as a bitmap though, or a metafile (although it would be better), but something like eps which does a better job of retaining the integrity of the vectors.

Hope this clears it up a bit.

 

[mThomas]

Yes, I think I was missinterpreting your post. I use PSP's .psp extension when working with vectors. I have a cool vector tutorial which is included with the Anniversery Editon of PSP.

mike

 

[blueark]

Really? Must look it up. It's a very powerful feature of PSP, and it's a pity I don't use it nearly as much as I should! rtfm...

 

[mazoonist]

I don't claim to be an expert with PSP (yet) but I've been working with it for awhile now. I think I know what you're trying to do, and I've found something that works for me.

Open your JPG image. Make the canvas size larger if you're expecting to enlarge the image. On the Image menu choose "Canvas Size...", and make it larger than it currently is, by say, twice as much or whatever you want to work with. Click the boxes to Center Horizontally and Vertically.

You might have to click the no-zoom button on the toolbar if your canvas became 1:2 view. This will zoom it back to 1:1.

Now select just the area of the image that was formerly the whole image using the rectangular selection tool. Pull down the Selection menu and pick "Promote to Layer" Then from the same menu, pick "Select None."

Next, on the layer palette (open it if it's not already open), click on the layer that says background to highlight it, and delete it with the delete button (looks like a trash can) that's just above it, because you just want to work with the promoted layer.

Now you can click on the deformation tool (it's the third tool down from the top), and it'll let you deform your image like a vector object. Stretch and skew and rotate at will, that is.

To turn off the deformation tool when you're done with it, you have to click on a different tool (took me awhile to figure that one out!). Then, on the Layer menu, choose "Merge/Merge All (flatten)" to convert back to an image that's composed of only one layer.

Hope that helps.
--Jody Hall--

 

[blueark]

...or go to Image > Resize and get exactly the same result (unless you really need to skew and rotate it)!

 

[mThomas]

The deformation tool is a very handy way to distort a raster object, but the object remains a raster object subject to the same problems associated with enlarging or reducing raster objects, ie. the loss of quality which is not evident in resizing or distorting vector objects.

mike