Okay, so I've used Photoshop and Illustrator before and utilize online tutorials... but I'm encountering some minor issues.
I've scanned my typeface in and have it saved. It's a full page of letters I am using for the posters. I want to do the following:
1. Save the letters on a transparent background so I can pluck each individual letter without any white square background behind it.
2. Change the color of the letters if I choose to do so. I found a way with the replacement color tool, but it is tedious given my brush restrictions (for some reason the brush palette is grayed out).
I have the doc saved in 3 formats right now...psd, jpeg, and tif.
Any tips are greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Chris
4 comments:
You probably want the type in a vector format so it is scalable. Here's what to do:
Scan the doc at no smaller than 300 dpi at 100%.
Open the document in Photoshop. Make sure the layers palette is visible. Double click on the only layer shown called Document. It will prompt you to create a new layer, click YES. Now your file is editable.
Now clean up your images, adjust the colors so the white is white and the black is black, remove any unwanted lines, make it perfect, etc.
Now choose SELECT/Color Range and when the dialog box opens, use the eye dropper to choose the white color. Mess with the options until you have it perfect. Click OK and all of the white background color will be selected. Click DELETE. The white is gone and the checkerboard BG should show.
Now save the document as a .PSD
Open a new Illustrator file, be sure to make it a decent size, like 10x10". Go to FILE/place and navigate to your new PSD. It doesn't matter how large the imported file is, just scale it proportionally to fit all in the art board. Find the Live Trace option in the top tool bar. Next to it should be a drop down, click that and choose TRACING Options. A dialog box should open. Be sure to select PREVIEW. On the left select from the drop down BLACK AND WHITE, the other options should be fine in default. Select OK.
The raster image was traced by Illustrator to a vector images, now your type is scalable to infinite.
You are not done.
You need to break apart the white and the black objects. Select OBJECT/EXPAND. This will simplify the image. Now ungroup the objects, deselect, use the direct select tool and select a piece of white.
Now choose SELECT/SAME/Fill color. All of the white on the board should be selected, delete it. Now, all that should be left is the black letter forms. Select each one individually and group them, deselect and do the same for all letter forms.
Copy and paste each individual letter form into it's own AI. file, make sure the art boards are the same every time, or use the same art board and make each letter form a different layer, copy and paste each layer in Indesign as needed or save them as separate files and drag and drop from Bridge.
Your brush tool is gray because you have to make the Document layer an editable layer.
Always save from Ps if you are bringing to In or Ai as a PSD. .jpeg is for on-screen only.
I hope this helps. Just to let you know, I recited all that from my head. You should consider working very hard on your production skills, some of that is very fundamental stuff.
awesome Bob, thank you. I'll try this tonight. Yes, I know I need to work on the production aspect of things
Like I said before, drop me a line if you get stuck. I'll be glad to help.
How did it go?
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