how to convert a photographed face (jpg) into vector art?

[dpimp@adobeforums.com]

hello. iv seen many vector art of people's faces. how can i create a similar piece of art as the picture below (the link below) using an original photo of the face. is this possible in illustrator?

<http://www.deviantart.com/view/6839481/>

thanks

[ID._Awe@adobeforums.com]

You would need a third-party program to do this. I use CorelTrace, given me excellent results. Adobe Streamline has lost it's tooth.

[BobHill@adobeforums.com]

Probably the best person to answer this would be Philo Calhoun, but if you learn the advanced techniques of using Mesh, you can do a very very credible job of converting raster portraits to pure vector and you won't get the limited 256 color tones of Trace either. Streamline and CorelTrace are limited to 256 (8bit) color. Mesh is not, unless you limit yourself to it. The art you see in your URL is very easily done in comparison with what can be done using extensive mesh. Philo has a site with at least one beautiful example of what can be done in this area, I believe.

Bob

[Harron_K._Appleman@adobeforums.com]

See "*VECTORIZE - A Quick Tutorial" 4/14/04 11:36am </cgi-bin/webx?14@@.2cd1373c/0> .

[BobHill@adobeforums.com]

Here is one by Philo and how it's done. See if this isn't truly vector "art" at it's best. <http://teched.vt.edu/gcc/PDFs/PhiloCalhounIllTechnique.PDF>

Bob

[jandi_morrison@adobeforums.com]

How do I fix an error message that says plug-in gaussian blur not found? I just installed Illustrator CS in March.

[dpimp@adobeforums.com]

thank you to bobhill and appleman! its perfect! im gonna combine both methods.

[Jonathan_McClintic@adobeforums.com]

Bob,

This is the second time that you have posted that wonderful tutorial by Philo, and I must say, it is still about the best tutorial for doing near photo-realism in Illustrator. I did a few pieces using those techniques, and I almost felt like I was cheating! Thanks again for posting it.

Jon

[BobHill@adobeforums.com]

You are welcome, Jon. Although it's Philo's all the way. I'm always impressed with it and how it works.

Bob