Many of Studio Artist’s paint and image processing effects are raster effects. What this means is that they are pixel based. Raster paint and raster image processing effects are capable of generating amazing organic paint looks and photo realistic imaging effects. However, because raster image processing is pixel based you can’t arbitrarily scale raster image output to arbitrary print resolutions without interpolating the raster image, which can introduce interpolation artifacts at high interpolation ratios.

Vector graphic effects are inherently resolution independent, which means that vector file output can be printed at arbitrary resolutions with no interpolation artifacts. Studio Artist does have the capability to output vector file formats like EPS or SVG. Studio Artist also includes tools that can convert a raster image into a resolution independent vector representation. So you can take a raster image processing effect and by working in Studio Artist generate a modified version of the effect that outputs vector files, which can then be used for resolution independent printing or vector editing.

Raster to vector conversion does introduce artifacts when a continuous tone raster image is converted into a flat color region vector file. However, there are a large number of raster image processing effects that generate flat color raster output.  These kinds of image processing effects are ideal for conversion to vector output.

The Vectorizer has a special Technique option called Flat Input that is specifically designed to take a flat color raster image and convert it into a vector representation. We will utilize that vectorizer technique in this tutorial tip.

The specific image operation we’ll be working with for this tutorial is the Line Screen Regionize ip op. This image operation effects is raster in nature, but generates flat color effected output. The effect is designed to simulate different black and white or color lithography and screen print styles. It’s an example of a raster processing effect that is ideal for generating vector output.

The screen snap above shows the particular editable parameter settings we used for the Line Screen Regionize ip op. Note that the Ip Source is set to the Source Image and the Composite option is set to Replace, so the effect processes the source image and then places the effected output in the current canvas layer. The effect output is shown below.

Note that the effect is ideal for generating vector output because it is a flat color stylized representation of the source image. To convert the raster frame buffer into a vector representation we can now use the Vectorizer.

The screen shot above shows the vectorizer Generation control panel settings we used to convert out flat color raster image processing effect into vector output. Note that the Main Technique option is set to Flat Input. This particular technique assumes that you already have a flat color raster source image. If you are working with a continuous tone raster source image then you would use a different technique like the Image technique.

Note that all of the Filtering and Cleanup options are turned off. This is because we want to convert the flat color raster image into a vector representation with as little modification as possible.

The screen snap above shows the vectorizer Drawing control panel settings used for this example. These settings basically just pass through the flat color region’s original coloring and shape with no effected variation.

Again, the point of these particular vectorizer parameter options is to modify the original image as little as possible. You do have the option to turn on any of the various stylization or coloring options and add additional modifications to your original effect.

I recorded the 2 processing steps discussed above into a paint action sequence (PASeq) shown above. The first action step runs the raster image processing effect. The second action step converts the raster effect output into a vector representation. This 2 step PASeq can now be saved as a PASeq preset and used in the future to generate our custom vector processing effect.

Note that the particular vectorizer settings we used generate anti-aliased vector drawing, so even if you wanted to output a raster image file, using this 2 step technique is a great way to convert the Line Screen Regionize effect into something that generates anti-aliased output at edges in the effect.

When you are ready to generate vector file output with the PASeq preset, there are a few options available to choose from. You can generate EPS output or SVG output. To do this use the appropriate Action : Generate EPS or Action : Generate SVG menu option. Since we’re working with a complete effect recorded into a PASeq, you would use the ‘with Paint Action Sequence’ menu command option.

The screen snap above shows the resulting vector file output opened into Adobe Illustrator. All of the vector paths are completely editable in Illustrator or any other vector editing program when you output your effect this way.

For this particular example we output an SVG vector file and opened it in Illlustrator. Illustrator will also open an EPS vector file. Photoshop can also open EPS files and rasterize them into very high resolution image layers.

The screen capture above shows a zoomed in view of the EPS vector file in Apple’s Preview application. Note how the vector file output arbitrarily scales to an arbitrary zoom for display or for printing.

For More Information

Here’s a tip on generating EPS vector output.

Here’s a tip on generating SVG vector output.

Here’s a tip that discusses a different approach to generating vector output effects by using the Sketch Ip Op in conjunction with the paint synthesizer vector output capabilities.

The PASeq preset generated in this tutorial is available for download here.

The Studio Artist Vectorizer takes a raster image and converts it into a flat color vector representation. The vectorization process can either try to mimic the source as closely as possible (example above), or can be configured to create a wide range of different stylistic effects (example below). 

The vectorizer output can be inserted as a rendered raster image into the current canvas layer, as bezier paths into the current layer’s bezier path frame, or output to an external encapsulated postscript (EPS) file.  

Pressing the Action button renders the vectorizer effect to the current layer.

If the ‘Path : Path Layer Record Options : Vectorizer’ menu flag is checked then when you press the Action button the generated bezier vector regions will also be inserted into the current layer’s bezier path frame.

To output an eps file from the vectorizer you would run the ‘Action : Generate EPS ; with Vectorizer’ menu.

EPS files can also be generated from a Paint Action Sequence (PASeq). Both Vectorizer and Paint Synthesizer action steps can generate eps vectors in a PASeq.

There are 3 different Editor control panels for configuring vectorizer presets. They are the Generation, Drawing, and Composite control panels.

Generation Control Panel

The Generation control panel parameters determine the source, cleanup filtering, and technique options for the vectorization process.

The source for the effect can be either the source image or the current canvas layer. The different filter, prune, and clean options help to eliminate the effects of noise and spurious small or thin regions. If you are vectorizing an image that already consists of flat color regions and you want to preserve the shape of those regions as closely as possible then you should turn off these filter and claenup settings.

There are 4 main Techniques.  

Image is the most commonly used technique. It provides a number of different Generator options that all generate different stylistic effects that process the entire source image.

Shape generates vector effects based on specific geometric effects.

Outline generates various outline effects and will not process the entire image, only the areas associated with the desired outline effect.

So you could composite different outline effects on top of an existing canvas.

Flat Input assumes the input is already composed of flat color regions and just converts those existing regions into eps vectors. Typically you would turn off the filtering and cleanup options if running the Flat Input technique, since these options would change the appearance of the flat regions you are converting into eps vectors.

Draw Control Panel

The Drawing control panel lets you specify various stylistic or randomizing region effects,

coloring options for the generated vector regions, default background color fill,

and various eps options that determine how the eps vectors are generated.

Version 4 also includes 2 different rasterization options for rendering the generated vector regions into the raster canvas.

Pixel Raster Fill is the original hard edged vector fill approach used in previous versions of Studio Artist. Vector Antialias is a new anti-aliased drawing mode that can give smoother edges and also better represents what the eps output will look like.  

Composite Control Panel

The composite control panel is new in version 4 and provides the standard Studio Artist compositing, color space, and mix options. These controls specify how the vectorizer output is composited with the existing canvas layer.

EPS stands for encapsulated postscript and is a vector file format. The advantage of vector files over raster image files is that a vector file is essentially resolution independent and can be rescaled smoothly to any resolution. Raster image files are pixel based image files and while they can be resized with something like Studio Artist’s Supersizer interpolator there will be visual artifacts introduced by the rescaling process.

There are 2 different ways you can create EPS vector artwork in Studio Artist. You can output an EPS file directly from the Vectorizer. Or you can record a Paint Action Sequence (PASeq) using action steps that can generate EPS output (the Vectorizer, Paint Synthesizer, and Set to Background options) and then render the PASeq output as an EPS file. There are individual command menus under the main Action : Generate EPS menu for both of these 2 options.

Vectorizer

The Vectorizer takes a raster image and converts it into a flat vector representation. The raster source can be the source image or the current canvas. Depending on how you adjust the controls in the Vectorizer you can generate a wide variety of different aesthetic styles. The version 4 vectorizer has the option of rendering the vector output in the Studio Artist canvas as either a Pixel raster Fill or a Vector Antialiased representation. The Vector Anitaliased option gives a better indication of what the EPS file will look like when rendered in another program.

In the Vector Drawing control panel are some additional EPS parameters that give you additional control over how the EPS file is generated from the Vectorizer output. If you are not getting complete coverage in the rendered EPS file try increasing the EPS Outline Size.

Paint Synthesizer Classic

The Paint Synthesizer drawing engine is primarily designed as a raster paint engine. This is what enables the paint synthesizer to create rich organic raster paint effects. However, you can do vector drawing directly using the paint synthesizer, or you can automatically convert a raster paint stroke into vector output. There are several adjustable parameter options located in the paint synthesizer Vector Output control panel that determine how a raster paint stroke is converted into an EPS vector representation when used to generate an EPS file.  

Each of the EPS Stroke options provides a different way to convert a raster paint stroke into an EPS vector representation. They all look different, so they provide some artistic flexibility that can be exploited in your artwork. However, be aware they all have stylized looks associated with flat color vector output and are not going to convey the same artistic message or degree of subtle variability as the full raster paint engine can.

Studio Artist 4 has a new vector render option for the paint synthesizer. This new vector render option generates anitaliased vector drawing directly from the paint synthesizer. Note that when it is turned on the EPS Strokes conversion option described above disappears and a new Vector Stroke Type parameter option is made available instead. This is because there is no need to convert a raster paint stroke into an eps vector representation since you are drawing directly with vectors in this case. The Vector Stroke Type option lets you choose how the display vectors are being generated from your drawing and the eps output just passes those display vectors into the generated eps file.

The Vector Render Option is somewhat experimental and still under development. Be aware that much of the paint synthesizer’s advanced functionality does not affect the appearance of the vector drawing since it was designed for a raster paint engine. The Vector Solid Color render option is very useful for drawing thin tight lines.

Viewing EPS Files

Studio Artist currently does not support EPS import.  However, Apple’s Preview application will open eps files generated from Studio Artist or other applications and convert them to PDF files.  You can also have the option to save them as rasterized image files like jpeg or tiff, and these exported files can then be easily opened into Studio Artist.  You can also import EPS files into other programs like PhotoShop or Illustrator for rendering at arbitrary resolutions or printing.

SVG vs EPS Vector Output

Studio Artist also supports SVG vector output. Again, you can generate SVG output using the Vectorizer or a PASeq. Historically, the EPS output support has been in Studio Artist for awhile, and the code that generates the EPS vectors in the paint synthesizer occurs as a secondary process after the initial raster drawing occurs. This secondary process to generate a vector stroke for EPS output may generate vector output that looks very different from the raster paint drawn into the raster canvas. 

The SVG output is a new feature in v4 and is much more closely tied to the actual code that draws into the raster frame buffer if that code is doing vector drawing into the raster frame buffer. In the paint synthesizer this would be the ‘Vector (solid color)’ main Render Option or the ‘AntiAliased Solid’ Brush Type. Unlike the EPS output support, only paint synthesizer presets that use actual vector drawing internally will generate SVG output.  So currently in v4 you would need to use the ‘Vector (solid color)’ main Render Option or the ‘AntiAliased Solid’ Brush Type if you wanted to generate SVG vector output from the paint synthesizer.

The ‘Generate SVG : Print with Paint Action Sequence…’ menu allows you to send generated SVG output to a standard print dialog. You can then print directly from the generated vector output. The difference between this special SVG print functionality and the normal ‘File : Print’ menu is that Studio Artist normally prints from the raster frame buffers internally used for it’s draw canvas, while the special Generate SVG print menu actually prints based on the generated SVG vectors.

On a Mac you can also use the ‘PDF : Save as PDF…’ menu available via the menu button in the Mac standard print dialog to generate a PDF file from the generated SVG vector output. So this is a way to generate PDF output that is an alternative to the EPS vector output described above.

More information on SVG generation and output can be found in this tip.

Since SVG vector output is more closely tied to the actual vector draw code the paint synthesizer uses internally for any paint presets that perform vector drawing it can often generate vector output that more closely matches what is seen in the Studio Artist raster draw canvas. Assuming you are using paint presets that support vector drawing, specifically the ’Vector (solid color)’ main Render Option or the ‘AntiAliased Solid’ Brush Type. So for those kinds of paint presets in a PASeq, using the ’Generate SVG : Print with Paint Action Sequence…’ menu and then ‘PDF : Save as PDF…’ option in the print dialog provide an alternative to the EPS output options described above.