Tracing Letters Part 1 - Using Adobe Illustrator
This tutorial is assuming you have basic knowledge of using the Pen Tool.
1.
From the main menu go to FILE>PLACE the artwork you wish to trace into your document. Select
your image and make sure you tick the ‘TEMPLATE’ box.
This will automatically place your image into a new ‘template’ layer with the layer dimmed to 50%.
2.
Firstly, place a horizontal guideline along the bottom of the template text.
Quite often, as in this example it’s a good idea to use the letter ‘I’ as a starting point. The reason for this is that once it’s been drawn you can use it to form some of the other letters, such as the ‘T’ and the ‘R’ in this example.
Make sure you’re in ‘OUTLINE’ mode Ctrl+Y or Cmd+Y (Mac). Start with the ‘I’ in the bottom left corner and draw the first section as shown.
3.
If you wanted to you could continue to carry on drawing all the way around from this point. But here’s a better way to achieve a more accurate end result.
Select the whole of the line and ‘flip’ it vertically to create a mirror copy.
Select the bottom 2 points and join them together Ctrl+J or Cmd+J (Mac)
4.
Using the exact same technique flip the whole of this section horizontally so you now how a mirror copy at the top. Now select the 2 end points of one side and join together. Do the same to the other side. You have now created the letter ‘I’ that is perfectly symmetrical horizontally and vertically.
5.
Now you can use the ‘I’ as a base for some of the other letters. By doing this you will end up with more precise results with the text aligning top and bottom whilst keeping the thickness of the letter stems constant throughout. It’s important to keep the quality high especially, for example if the design may be used on large format banners where any inaccuracies will be exaggerated.
Now using the Selection Tool (V) click and hold the letter ‘I’ you just created. While still selected hold down the Alt and Shift key and drag over to the ‘R’, creating a duplicate of the ‘I’.
6.
Continue with the ‘R’ by deleting the section as shown. Continue to draw the rest of the R
7.
When drawing around a curve I find it easier to place the next point at 90˚ and using the SHIFT key to keep the ‘control points vertical or horizontal like shown. I find it makes drawing using the Pen tool more consistent throughout and produces more accurate results.
8.
Here you’ll see my completed letter ‘R’ showing where I placed the points and the direction of the ‘control Points’.
9.
You can continue to use this same technique to draw all the other letters that have a vertical straight stem such as a ’T’ or ‘B’ and produce more accurate results while drawing using the Pen Tool.