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cutting out a logo from white background
I am currently working with some logos, which I have borrowed from elsewhere. The problem is the logos are placed on a white background, so the only background I can use to place them on is white. If I use any other colour as a background the logo will show with a white rectangle around it. I take it there must be a way to cut it out from the white background to the logo?
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Re: cutting out a logo from white background
There are several ways to do this in Xtreme. You can either use the Mehdi Live Effect Eraser Classic to remove the white, or you can hand trace around the logo and intersect the logo and the background. Or you could use Xtreme's Bitmap Tracer.
Saludos,
Bob.
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Re: cutting out a logo from white background
Could you outline how to do this with the bitmap tracer? I'm new, sorry, can't figure it out. Thanks.
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Re: cutting out a logo from white background
Hi Stuart,
Have a look at this post (includes a tutorial):
http://www.talkgraphics.com/showthread.php?t=18562
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Re: cutting out a logo from white background
I have used the settings for 'Adobe Man' as displayed in the tutorial, as I thought this was the closest match to what I want to do. However, the image keeps turning out blurred. I have attached the Xar file, if anyone can help. Can't seem to figure this out. Thanks.
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Re: cutting out a logo from white background
Its ok I think I have it now, I need to have smoothing set to zero.
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Re: cutting out a logo from white background
Stuart this is a fairly straight forward project for the 'shape editor' tool.
I would spend some time to learn to use it, the rewards are great because you will have the ability to quickly produce vector copies of bitmap logos quite quickly in the future.
See the XaraXone tutorial for the Shape Editor here:
http://www.xaraxone.com/webxealot/workbook30/page_6.htm
This I drew (hand traced) in a matter of seconds in Xtreme.
Attachment 63182
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Re: cutting out a logo from white background
Thanks, I'll look at that and have a go.
So can I not break an image up into pieces using bitmap tracer. After I have done the trace I can't seem to colour the background different?
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Re: cutting out a logo from white background
Being in the car business I have used borrowed images extensively.
One thing I have noticed is that if an image is a GIF on a website and I copy it, it pastes into Xara as a bitmap, creating the white rectangle.
Sometimes using the Import from Web feature allows me to download the GIF version.
Otherwise I just use the shape tool and trace the image. Making the original image slightly transparent and locking the object has helped me to do this more effectively.
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Re: cutting out a logo from white background
Honestly, don't fluff around with the bitmap tracer for this, believe me, it's not worth the effort for clean logos like that, you'll spend more time trying to make it look good than you would redrawing it by hand.
Xtreme's Shape Editor was the tool that sold it to me :D (my sanity has still yet to recover from CorelDRAW and Illustrator) :eek:
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Re: cutting out a logo from white background
It seems a bit difficult to do it by hand - are you guys all using those pen things?!
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Re: cutting out a logo from white background
Quote:
Originally Posted by
dogbertbh
One thing I have noticed is that if an image is a GIF on a website and I copy it, it pastes into Xara as a bitmap, creating the white rectangle.
This is correct.
All bitmaps are rectangular, even if the background is set to transparent.
Not all gifs are set to have transparent colours (or backgrounds) though.
Xtreme imports 'as is' from the source.
Auto tracers like Xtreme and Vector Magic will trace everything within the bounds of the rectangle. So the white bg (as in Stuarts example) will become a white rectangle behind the other traced paths.
You can select the result, un group it (or ctrl+Click) delete it or click a colour on the colour line to see it against the page background.
Attachment 63183
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Re: cutting out a logo from white background
Quote:
Originally Posted by
stuart1980
It seems a bit difficult to do it by hand - are you guys all using those pen things?!
No - using a mouse.
Keep at it - doesn't take long to get the hang of it ;)
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Re: cutting out a logo from white background
Quote:
Originally Posted by
stuart1980
It seems a bit difficult to do it by hand - are you guys all using those pen things?!
I dare say most people aren't. I do have one of those pen things, but I don't actually use it to draw. (What can I tell you, I'm just weird.;)).
Actually, it's fairly easy to do the cutout stuff, especially on your green leafy shapes. The ball is essentially a circle/ellipse, so it's mostly an issue of getting the size right.
Personally, I'd recreate the text areas rather than trace them. They will be difficult, especially the "shaping a future" line. If you don't have the font/s, perhaps you could use Mehdi on the text part and cut out just the graphic elements.
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Re: cutting out a logo from white background
Another way by making the image a mask.
Rich
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Re: cutting out a logo from white background
Rich,
Is that possible with Xtreme's standard tools?
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Re: cutting out a logo from white background
You need to use levels which is available. It is something you can try. If you were to recolor, recoloring dark only affects the black pixels, and light gets everything else. So, levels instead.
When you have a mask image, use it for bitmap transparency. The image will be like having a floating alpha channel. Making a bitmap copy will stablize the image.
I never use eliminate white plugins because Xara can do this itself.
Black will retain the opacity, and white will cause transparency.
I use this to clean images that have pixel clouds from plugins as well. If you have a graphic (PNG) that you can recolor both light and dark to black, then a bitmap copy will work as a mask.
Rich
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Re: cutting out a logo from white background
Rich, I'm sorry, I can't understand what you have said in relation to Xara Xtreme . :o
As far as I know, I'm pretty sure your image in post #15 was not produced in Xara Xtreme.
I'd love to be proved wrong because it's an area of Xtreme which I never knew natively existed or thought would be viable in a vector application.
I think it best that the OP is not confused (as I now am) with techniques which are native to raster applications yeh ;)
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Re: cutting out a logo from white background
You can use a black object in saturation transparency to make an image gray.
When you have an image selected on screen, you can go to the Bitmap Gallery and select an image. With both selected you can hit transparent, and the on screen image wil become transparent depending on the gray of the image in the Bitmap Gallery. A color image will work the same. Making a bitmap copy of an on screen image will place a copy in the Bitmap Gallery. I think an on screen object will work, too. Bitmap transparency is just one of the Xara options. It has several controls as well.
When I texturize, I drag an image from the Fill Gallery on screen. This will be available in the Bitmap Gallery. My textures are grayscale. Black retains the opacity, and white makes transparency. Gray give a variation. Same idea.
Rich
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Re: cutting out a logo from white background
Ah, now I see what you were trying to say - I'm a bit thick this morning.
Though I'm still not clear about the 'mask'.. Seems to work fine with transparency applied directly to Stuarts file, though I needed to clone a few times to add opacity back to the non-white areas.
Attachment 63192
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Re: cutting out a logo from white background
Steve,
I think colors work similar to grays.
Here is a cleaning method. The initial separation was using Smart Mask and P3 as a host. This gives me pixel erasing capability as well.
I recolored light and dark to black and made a bitmap copy. I make the sizes the same for easier application fo the transparency.
I sent the image to Mezzoforce Ice 2 rom P3. The plugin returns a border and a clouded tarnsparent area. I trimmed the return to size, and used the black image for bitmap transparency.
Rich
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Re: cutting out a logo from white background
Please explain a bit further. :o I can make a white background transparent by overlaying the same image from bitmap gallery with transparency, like Steve did. OK fine. Stained glass transparency does the same. How did you get the image to be a black mask in XXP though? It appears you've got rid of the background before turning the image black :confused:
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Re: cutting out a logo from white background
John,
This is a different case. I did an Akvis Smart Mask separation from XXP3 as a host.
I was getting ready to apply a plugin, but knowing the plugin returns a non clear background. I didn't draw an object, and needed another way.
Because the image was transparent, I could recolor light and dark to black. If the image had a white background, the entire image would be black. Black will give full opacity.
Making a bitmap copy put the image in the Bitmap Gallery. A black PNG work the same as a black and white image.
I ran the plugin, trimmed the image and used the image in the Bitmap Gallery to clear the transparent area.
I got SM for free by writing a tutorial. It is useful for me since I very seldom draw any longer.
Maybe a Stained Glass Transparency could be used to drop the white, and be able to recolor the rest to black.
Rich
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Re: cutting out a logo from white background
Thanks Rich - I get the drift now :)
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Re: cutting out a logo from white background
I looked at the sample image. It must be the image compression that causes a variation in pixel colors. I could see why the trace was like it was. Just the trace function showing what is there. Maybe saving at 100% quality would help.
Rich
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Re: cutting out a logo from white background
Quote:
Originally Posted by
sledger
.. I needed to clone a few times to add opacity back to the non-white areas.
do this myself as a useful quick,but approximate, correction - can cause anti-aliasing issues as well
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Re: cutting out a logo from white background
I rarely use bitmap transparency to isolate an image from the background, always preferring to slice it out with the shape editor wherever possible.
That's not to say I 'never' use bitmap transparency, I just prefer the cleaner results I get using vector tools.
Using Xtreme for only bitmap operations instead of it's primary role as a vector illustration/drawing application is (to me) rather like buying an amphibious car and thinking you bought a boat :D
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Re: cutting out a logo from white background
here smooth lines is what is needed I would think
this is not always the case
using a bitmap as a transparency mask is no less a 'vector' thing than using a bitmap fill ;)
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Re: cutting out a logo from white background
IMHO If you want to work with bitmap's use photoshop :D
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Re: cutting out a logo from white background
so you would obviously take the vector pen tool out of photoshop, which is not a vector application? :D
EDIT: ignore the rest here [see next post] :o
the method Rich describes does not in any case work as far as I can see in xtreme 5 - because applying a bitmap as a transparency does not seem to work that way any more
the basic method for xtreme 2 is as attached
perhaps some one can get it to work in xtreme 5? :o
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Re: cutting out a logo from white background
well strange - now it does!! :o
must have had a rogue setting somewhere - that's a relief
this one useful way to apply transparency to vectors - so there is no need to turn noses up at bitmaps here ;)
PS - think my confusion was to do with the way xtreme 5 now handles duplicates - more changes to the workflow :eek::D
One thing for sure its no longer as straight froward - I'm going to have to revisit this afresh
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Re: cutting out a logo from white background
I have to clip a LOT of images, I look after a catalogue of over 2000 images, I routinely move image's from Photoshop to Xara. IMHO If you want to clip an image quickly and cleanly it has to be the "Quick selection tool" in phs. It has saved me hours over the last couple of years, if I could use Xara to do it I would, but it's not really a job for Xara.
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Re: cutting out a logo from white background
Quote:
Originally Posted by
SmartEd
...but it's not really a job for Xara.
I'd have to agree in this case. Not even the Vector Magic result passes muster. If the fonts are known, then I'd use Xtreme and do a hand trace.
As Sledger has said, it's routine stuff and a novice could get a result with a bit of practise with the Shape Editor Tool.
Saludos,
Bob.
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Re: cutting out a logo from white background
you know - I'm beginning to think I must have opened an xtreme 2 generated xar in xtreme 5 by mistake earlier on - I cannot get it to work again in xtreme 5 - darn
well I've no more time for it now - the attached does work in xtreme 2 at least..... and you can apply it to vectors
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Re: cutting out a logo from white background
This is the method I use, I've no doubt it could be improved upon. :)
Drwyd
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Re: cutting out a logo from white background
Hi Drwyd
thanks
as that works in xreme 5 :), why doesn't the other way... hum I shouldn't but I'm going to have to sort this out for myself here and now...
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Re: cutting out a logo from white background
wow - never noticed the bitmap transparency thing!
But not sure if I'm doing something wrong.
I creaded a bitmap of a beveled orange star on a white background. Then cheated slightly by creating the black and while mask in bitmap form (from the vector).
But when I apply the black and white bitmap to the orange bitmap I only masks the white in stained glass transparancy mode - but in do this I get a slight tranparency to the whole image, as can be seen in the attached i.e. the yellow box is below the orange star with the B&W bitmap mask applied.
Am I missing something?
Turan
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Re: cutting out a logo from white background
Sorry, in the time it took me to try it out - I'd missed Drwyd's excellent example - the trick is creating the bitmap in 2 colour depth (I have not looked yet, but it was probably mention above).
Turan
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Re: cutting out a logo from white background
you can take it up to 256 colors and it works :)
yes - thanks again Drwyd
it works in xtreme 2 with true colour + alpha mask [ie default bitmap copy setting] - reckon that is where I went wrong before :o
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Re: cutting out a logo from white background
Glad I could help :)
Under some conditions a small fringe is left. To solve this the bitmap can be reduced in size by a couple of pixels before applying it as a tranparency.
Drwyd.