Welcome back! In our previous lessons, you've built a strong foundation in vector manipulation. You've mastered creating paths with the Pen Tool, modifying them with Bezier curves, and, most recently, combining them with Boolean operations to create complex forms.
Today, we'll combine all those skills for a very common and powerful task in graphic design: tracing a simple sketch or image to create a vector illustration. This is the process of converting a raster image (like a photograph or a hand-drawn sketch) into a clean, scalable vector graphic. This skill is essential for digitizing logos, creating stylized illustrations from photos, and transforming your own drawings into professional assets.
Let's get started!
The Goal: From Pixels to Paths
Our goal is to take an image made of pixels, which loses quality when resized, and recreate it using vector paths, which can be scaled infinitely without any loss of quality.
The Tracing Workflow
The process can be broken down into a few simple steps. We'll go through each one.
- Prepare the Base Image: Import an image and set it up for easy tracing.
- Trace the Outlines: Use the Pen Tool to draw vector paths over the key shapes in the image.
- Color and Refine: Fill the new vector shapes with color and hide the original image.
Step 1: Prepare Your Base Image
First, you need something to trace. This can be a photo you've taken, a royalty-free image from a site like Unsplash or Pexels, or even a picture of a simple sketch you've drawn on paper.
Once you've chosen your image, import it into Figma (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + K). Before you start tracing, a couple of setup steps will make your life much easier.
Creating Custom Illustrations from a Sketch using the Pen ...
This article, 'Creating Custom Illustrations from a Sketch,' outlines a professional workflow. We'll focus on the initial setup.
Read the paragraphs starting from 'I created a 800 x 600 frame...' to '...without selecting the background'. The key tip here is to lock the background layer.
Locking the image layer is crucial because it prevents you from accidentally selecting or moving it while you're trying to draw on top. Another useful trick is to adjust the image itself to make the outlines clearer.
Illustrations in Figma: Design Workflow in Figma Tutorial
In this video, 'Illustrations in Figma,' the creator shows how he prepares a photo for tracing. Notice what he does to the image after importing it.
Watch from 0:50 to 1:41. Pay attention to how he uses the image settings (like contrast) and layer opacity to make the outlines more visible and the image less distracting.
To recap the setup process:
- Import your image into your Figma frame.
- In the Layers panel on the left, lock the image layer by clicking the padlock icon.
- In the Design panel on the right, select your image and lower its Layer Opacity to around 30-50%. This helps you see the vector paths you're drawing more clearly.
Step 2: Trace the Outlines with the Pen Tool
Now for the main event. With your base image locked and faded, it's time to trace. Select the Pen Tool (P) and start creating your vector shapes. You'll be using the skills you learned in lessons 5.2 and 5.3 to create points and adjust curves.
The following article provides a fantastic, step-by-step guide to tracing an object from a photo.
4 ways to remove a background in Figma
This article, '4 ways to remove a background in Figma', uses tracing to create a mask, but the technique is identical to what we're doing. It gives clear instructions on the tracing process.
Read the sections titled '2. Trace the focus object with the pen tool' and '3. Define the vector object'. Focus on the process of clicking to create nodes and dragging handles to adjust curves to match the image's edge.
One of the most important best practices when tracing is to create a separate, closed shape for each distinct color area. For example, if you're tracing a person wearing a shirt and pants, you should create one shape for the shirt and a separate shape for the pants. This will make coloring them in the next step incredibly easy.
The article "Creating Custom Illustrations from a Sketch" emphasizes this point well. It advises ensuring "a new vector layer is created for each shape."
Test your understanding!
You are tracing a coffee mug that has a different color on its handle than on its body. Should you trace the entire mug as one single shape, or as two separate shapes? Why?
Show answer
You should trace it as two separate shapes: one for the body of the mug and one for the handle. This allows you to easily apply different colors or styles to each part independently.
Step 3: Color and Finalize
Once you have traced all the necessary shapes, you can click "Done" in the top toolbar to exit the Pen Tool editor. Now you have a collection of unstyled vector shapes on top of your base image.
The final step is to fill these shapes with color.
- Select one of your new vector shapes.
- In the Design panel on the right, go to the Fill section and click the color swatch to open the color picker.
- Choose your desired color.
- Repeat for all your other shapes.
After coloring, you can hide the original base image by clicking the "eye" icon next to it in the Layers panel. You'll be left with your clean, crisp vector illustration!
Your Turn: Practice Tracing
Now it's time to put it all together. This exercise will solidify the entire workflow.
- Find a simple object to trace. A piece of fruit (like a banana or apple), a simple leaf, a mug, or a basic icon you find online are all great choices.
- Set up your file in Figma:
- Import the image.
- In the Layers panel, lock the image layer.
- In the Design panel, reduce the layer's opacity to ~40%.
- Trace your object:
- Use the Pen Tool (P) to trace the main outlines.
- Remember to create separate, closed shapes for any parts that should be different colors.
- When a shape is complete, click the blue "Done" button or press Enter.
- Color and finish:
- Select each of your new vector shapes and add a Fill color.
- Hide the original image layer to see your final result.
Take your time with the Pen Tool. It requires practice, but this exercise is the perfect way to build your muscle memory.
Conclusion
Excellent work today! You have learned how to transform a static, pixel-based image into a dynamic, scalable vector illustration—a fundamental skill for any graphic designer.
Key Takeaways:
- The tracing workflow is: Prepare, Trace, and Color.
- Preparing your image by locking it and lowering its opacity is key to an efficient process.
- Always trace distinct color areas as separate, closed vector shapes. This makes coloring and editing much easier.
- The Pen Tool is your primary instrument for tracing, giving you full control over the final shape.
In our next and final lesson of this module, you will create a set of simple, consistent icons using vector tools. The tracing skill you learned today is a perfect method for creating icons, and you'll combine it with your knowledge of shapes and Boolean operations to build a professional and cohesive icon set.