How to Convert an Image to a Vector Graphic

Sumul Padharia
7 min readSep 6, 2021

Vector graphics are generally utilized for making digital graphics today, given the numerous benefits of vector graphics over other image editing measures, like pixel graphics.

In this post, I cover the main benefits of vector graphics exhaustively. Likewise, I clarify how they work and a portion of their most significant employments as well as how to convert an image to a vector. But let’s start at the beginning and try to understand what vector graphics are.

What are vector graphics?

Vector illustrations are generally utilized for making logos, line craftsmanship, 3D-like renderings, and movements, among different models.

The creation date for vector graphics dates to the 1800s with Euclidean vectors, depicting two focuses on a plane by deciding their area and heading.

What difference does this make?

Vector graphics are fundamentally arranged on a plane. Custom vector conversion can turn your pixel-based images into lossless, highly scalable files. If we know the situation of no less than two focuses on a plane, we can define a boundary between those two focuses. Recall those follow the numbers drawings from your childhood? This, more or less, is how vector programming renders drawings.

Benefits of Vector Graphics

Vector graphics have an unmistakable arrangement of benefits that make them interesting and incredible.

1. Vector Graphics Have Infinite Resolution

Vector graphics never lose their quality, regardless of whether you focus on them endlessly.

This implies that they are “goal-free,” in contrast to pixel (raster) graphics, which rely intensely upon the goal of an image. Since vector graphics don’t rely upon pixels on a plane, we can grow a line, bend, or shape to whatever size we need and consistently see their precise structure and highlights.

2. Vector Graphics are Scalable

First, the versatility of vector art services implies that you can snatch an article and rapidly focus on a minuscule detail, analyze every one of its highlights, and rapidly get back to a more sensible size. With vectors, you can zoom in and out easily.

Second, vector programming permits you to get an item (a circle, square, or star, for example) and essentially scale it down to minuscule or tremendous extents instantly. At long last, you can send out any vector object to any measurement you need without quality misfortune. This implies no undesirable pixelation or obscuring and, all the more critically, not increasing the size of the document.

3. Vector Graphics Are Lightweight (Small File Size)

They contain many directions rather than more perplexing data, similar to the large numbers, or even millions, of pixels in a digital photograph.

You can have an extremely perplexing vector drawing with numerous shapes, text, shadings, and angles and still have an exceptionally lightweight record. Additionally, you could expand the components of the object and still have a light record.

4. Vector Graphics Are Intuitively Created

Vector conversion services permit you to effectively make shapes like squares, square shapes, circles, and stars with signals that take after drawing on paper. Additionally, you can define boundaries to make anything you need, actually like drawing.

5. Vector Graphics Are Easily Manipulated

As well as making objects naturally, You can control vector graphics effectively and unequivocally.

For instance, you can make a square, get it, and move it around the material (the PC screen). You would now be able to take that square and scale, turn, slant, or reverse it.

You can make a line (called stroke) with two focuses (called hubs) and effectively add different hubs. Likewise, you can make bends or curves en route by moving and editing the hubs (Bézier bends). You can likewise effectively add tone to the articles you make, even inclinations.

6. Vector Graphics Are Easily Reusable

You can snatch an article with vector graphics and copy it dramatically, rapidly, and effectively making various duplicates of an item. You can even make clones of an article that change as indicated by the changes of the first. You can also easily duplicate any component of a drawing and piece and fare or duplicate it to another vector arrangement.

7. Vector Graphics Can Be Animated

You can utilize vector graphics programming to make fundamental, outline-by-outline movements. This is a cool element since you can make drawings effectively with vector programming. You can quicken vector objects by moving them, changing them, changing their shading, twisting their strokes, etc.

You can make a casing for every change. Then, at that point, you can consolidate the casings into a GIF, for instance. You can discover numerous vector arranges that permit liveliness, like SVG or Flash, all through the web.

Uses of Vector Graphics

Vector graphics offer a clean look with expressive, brilliant delineations and perfect, mathematical symbols.

Vector graphics unequivocally impact current design patterns. These are a few things you can do with vector graphics:

• Digital outlines, from easy to extremely complex

• Icons for applications or web applications

• Mockups for applications or sites

• Logo and logotype making

• Printables, like flyers or banners

• 3D-looking articles or renderings

• Video-game characters, imagery, and resources

• Images that look current, clean, and moderate

• You can transfer pixel images to vector programming to add text, channels, and drawings

• Website resources, like catches, pennants, banners, and suggestions to take action

• Text

• Grid-based specialized drawings

• Descriptive measurements (information diagrams)

Vector graphics’ flexibility makes vector graphics a phenomenal alternative and a magnificent beginning stage for learning graphic design.

How to convert .jpg to vector?

To convert a .jpg file to a vector image, you will require image editing/design software like CorelDRAW, Inkscape, or Adobe Illustrator. Certain software have automated vector conversion capabilities, but the best way is to convert flat images into vectors manually. Here is the most common method of converting an image to a vector-

  • Using the software of your choice, open the flat image.
  • Now create a new layer above the image.
  • Trace around the subject of your image to create paths and shapes with the Pen tool.
  • Use the color picker to fill the shapes following the colors of the base image.
  • Make the raster image invisible by either deleting or hiding it.
  • In the File dropdown menu, choose Export and select the SVG format.

How to convert a PDF into a vector?

The process of converting PDF files to vectors is similar to converting a .jpg image to a vector. Sometimes PDF files preserve text and have their incumbent shapes pre-defined. This makes the tracing process a lot easier. Here are the steps of converting a PDF to a vector-

  • Open your PDF file in your design software.
  • Use the selection tool to choose the graphics, text, etc.; you wish to convert.
  • Go to the Type menu and select outlines. All text will be converted to paths and shapes.
  • Now go to the File dropdown menu, select Export, and choose SVG as the format.

How to convert images to vectors in Illustrator?

Adobe Illustrator offers a quick way of converting a flat image to a vector. It is also one of the most commonly used software for image vector conversions. The required steps for vector conversion in Illustrator are-

  • Open a new document in Illustrator
  • From the Menu bar, click File, and then Place. Select the image you plan on converting and then click Place.
  • Click on the image with the selection tool chosen, then select Image Trace from the Window dropdown menu. This will activate the image trace panel. (don’t forget to tick the Preview checkbox)
  • From the Mode dropdown menu, you can choose between the available modes. Typically, they are Colors, Grays and Threshold. The mode you select will have its own set of sliders for you to play around with.
  • You can choose fine-tuning options from the Advanced menu
  • Adjust the Paths slider to define the number of paths in your file according to the complexity of the design.
  • Tweak the Corners slider to adjust the number of corners in the graphic. High corners will lead to sharp polygonal edges and low corners for more rounded corners.
  • You can also adjust the Noise Slider to add or remove details from your design.
  • Now Click on Object in the Menu bar and expand. You will now see that your image has been converted to a vector.
  • Save your file by exporting it in the .svg format.

How to convert images to vector in Photoshop?

Photoshop was created mainly for photos that are raster images. While you can export a file in a vector format with Photoshop, this image will not be infinitely scalable. Only the file type will be in a vector format with a raster image in it.

To convert an image to a vector file like .svg in Photoshop, follow these steps-

  • Open your image in Photoshop.
  • Go to File, choose Export, and then Export As.
  • Choose SVG file format.
  • Click Export.

In conclusion

Vector Graphics are Excellent for Learning Graphic Design. They are one of the primary strategies for producing PC graphics and are an incredible device for learning graphic design since they permit you to acquire certainty and involvement in shapes, math, shading, text, format, and even raster tasks. With vectorization you can brief about the process of raster to vector conversion.

The writing is on the wall! Begin trying different things with vector graphics at this moment. Happy illustrating!

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Sumul Padharia
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Sumul Padharia, a man of many talents is a BDE by profession, photographer by passion and a cricketer by heart