: Tracing/Vectorizing Complex Shape at 3/4 Angle Premise I am tasked with taking a normal picture and tracing the geometric design in Adobe Illustrator and saving as an SVG. I have traced simple
Premise
I am tasked with taking a normal picture and tracing the geometric design in Adobe Illustrator and saving as an SVG. I have traced simple shapes and saved as SVG before, but this particular image really has me scratching my head. I will attach a small version here for reference:
What I have tried
Update
I have since went forward with the custom brush pattern approach. It got me surprisingly close as you will see below. I drew a circle and chose the custom brush, then I used Effect>>Distort>>Distort and Transform to make 6 concentric circles (there are 6 circles in the original picture, if I'm not mistaken). I scaled them at 92% which resulted in a nice transition of 1 circle to the next smaller circle, however it left me with a lot of empty space in the middle. I'm not sure how to get the scaling right; perhaps I need to make my custom brush thicker? My custom brush is provided to the right of the satellite mock-up.
Even after I get the scaling/copying just right, the issue of the 3/4 perspective is unresolved.
I will leave my original question here so as not to invalidate any existing answers.
Question: Is there a fairly time-efficient technique that Adobe Illustrator can bring to bear for a task like this? Any help big or small will be appreciated, thank you.
Optional Question: Is my custom brush technique going to pan out? I'm still stuck at the scaling and how to rotate the perspective to match the original picture. I would appreciate any specific tips with regards to those problems.
Further Clarification
Need to retain as much of the underlying geometry as possible
Result should resemble a wire-frame, nearly as complex but high resolution (or infinitely scalable)
Need to export or save as SVG
The three prongs that stick out could be traced the old-fashioned way easy enough, so the focus will be on the circular geometry and all the criss-crossing lines
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1 Comments
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The circular reflector of the antenna is possible to draw as 3D model.
Obviously a plausible look-alike version is ok, you do not need radiotechnically accurate copy(= sub-millimeter tolerances regardless the huge size). A 3D modeller who has climbed at least a little upwards from a full novice level draws it in 2 hours, an experienced modeller needs 50% less.
There are plenty of free and commercial 3D models available. Search for them. Some keywords: parabolic,antenna, reflector, radar, radio telescope
ADD: In Illustrator the wanted projection needs 3D or an incredibly tedious envelope mesh distortion warping as a full 2D solution. If the pattern can be flat, but parabolic on a 3D parabolic surface, you can use illustrator's 3D effect Revolve + texture symbol mapping.
See this( the same technique used for decorative purposes) Want to make a concave lens effect
You can drag your wireframe to symbols panel and take it from there as mapped artwork onto the revolved dish.
Here's an ultrasimple attempt to do it:
A wireframe element (diagonals are missing), used later as a swatch
A rectangle filled with wireframe element swatch, used later as mapped texture symbol
Fake parabolic profile curve, 2 anchors only, actually a piece of ellipse
The profile revolved and texturized. Can be expanded for final drawing.
This reflector is not especially plausible because it has no truss structure, which is essential part of the construction. Creating it with Illustrator's 3D is hopeless - there's no such tools included. Even simple freeware CAD can offer more. The next image is an example. It's about 50% less dense than a real thing, measures are random and all parts are only wires, but at least it has thickness and surely it's available as vector SVG:
As a construction it's not complex. Only a 15 degrees sector was put together and 23 copies were made. Used CAD = DesignSpark Mechanical.
ADD2: Your radio telescope seems to be available in a marketplace for 3D models www.cgtrader.com/3d-models/exterior/sci-fi/radio-telescope Its primary format seems to be a huge polygon mesh. Before purchasing it you should ask the seller how it is convertible to line art vector drawing - you surely do not want all those 100000 triangles, only the visible outlines. The marketplace offers free conversion to other formats, but that's not automatic, the availability must be asked.
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