[GiGiJulz]

Hi,

I want to digitise my mix media artwork (watercolour+ink) so I can edit/polish/vectorise it for printing but I am having issues to find a suitable software (other than Photoshop) for Mac.

I used inkspace to vectorise and then edit my pencil/pen sketches, which worked very well, but unfortunately inkspace doesn’t vectorise colours (or at least I did not find the way to it) . I also tried krita and even though it allowes me to edit the original coloured image with it, it doesn’t convert it to a vector. Moreover, it’s a bit less intuitive than inkspace when it comes to editing.

Any advice?


Thanks!

 

[shellifitz]

I don't do much vector work but Gimp allows you to draw with paths... Inkscape can trace an image into a vector.

There is also a program called Rebelle. I haven't tried it yet either but you might check into it.

Adding: have a look at Artrage too. it might be something you could use.

Hope this helps!

Shellifitzpatrick.com

 

[GiGiJulz]

I don't do much vector work but Gimp allows you to draw with paths... Inkscape can trace an image into a vector.

There is also a program called Rebelle. I haven't tried it yet either but you might check into it.

Adding: have a look at Artrage too. it might be something you could use.

Hope this helps!

Shellifitzpatrick.com

Thanks lot!!

The problem I found with inkspace is that it either traces the image only in black and white, or gives colours that are quite far from the original.

I will have look at your suggestions.

 

[RTan]

I haven't used it in years but you may try Adobe Illustrator, or Affinity Illustrator, or Corel Draw. I don't really do vector art so I have no idea if they will fit your needs. Pretty sure they all have free demos.
Also looking at the other posters comments Rebelle is raster only. It's what I use. You may look into though if you want to move to straight digital watercolor painting. It has the best digital watercolor out there.

 

[vectorian]

Read your post and want to make some comments.

It makes no sense to vectorize a watercolor or colorful painting.
It can be done, but you won't like the result. If you vectorize a full
color painting the vectorizer will vectorize every tiny color change
into a vector object. So your result would contain thousands of
vector objects. Let alone that that would look unattractive besides.
That's why it makes more sense to vectorize a line drawing or
a flat graphic.

As far as bitmap paintings are concerned, you should first think
about how big you want to print them and what resolution you
need for it. To enlarge Bitmap Paintings there are so-called
upscaler software. But you should only use them in small
doses because the result can contain artifacts.

The program "Rebelle" the other poster mentioned is one of the
best for natural media like paintings, besides "Corel Painter".
But may require a powerful computer. Which is why I recommend
trying the demo first.