ProFantasy Community Forum

Trace Function

SlaveOneSlaveOne
in Cartographic Resources
Can anyone point me to a a trace tutorial?

I want to import an outline of a shape (AKA a continent on a map) to CC3+

So far i have been able to import a png of a doctored image file(Not Attached), but i cant get the effects sheets to apply the properties correctly on the actual image. So i figured its prolly best to try this trace function i hear about.

Below is the original image. As you can see im trying to get an accurate outline of the island and preferably the rivers and inland lake as well.

Any help would be appreciated

TIA!
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Comments

  • RalfRalf Administrator, ProFantasy 🖼️ 18 images Mapmaker
    "Trace" is for tracing other vector entities in CC3, it can't trace features of a bitmap you import, as CC3 doesn't "see" these, it only knows the actual (rectangular) edges of your bitmap.

    Simply use the Landmass drawing tool to follow the bitmap coastline point by point.
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  • SlaveOneSlaveOne
    OK Ralf I'll give that a try. Thanks!
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  • 21 days later
  • DkarrDkarr Traveler
    edited April 2015
    In a case like this where "tracing" the shape might be tedious and extremely time consuming, it might be recommendable to do a bitmap to vector conversion using other tools.

    For example, I would recommend using inkscape (free tool) to convert the image file (raster) to a DXF file (vector). Once you have converted the file to a DXF, you should be able to import it into CC3 for manipulation.

    Open up CC3+ and create a blank drawing space. Go to DRAW menu and select insert file. Look for your dxf file. Insert at 0,0 coordinates and escape.

    When you place the DXF file it might appear "invisible". Simply do a color change of previous to a single color (black or red). You should now be able to see the "lines". However these 2d splines are not compatible with conversion to paths for some reason. So do a non-visual scale xy. Select all the nodes, and scale to 1.0 (this will not scale anything, but it will make all the 2d splines accessible for conversion. Then do a ltp2 (line to path) and select all the lines in your coast.

    Now your entire coast is a path, and can be converted to a multipoly if needed. I've attached a cc3+ file with the dxf of the map above embedded for you to test it out. At this point you would have to do the non-visual scale and the ltp commands.

    Hope that helps
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  • SlaveOneSlaveOne
    Thanks for the tip Dkarr! I'll give it a shot with some other projects since i have finished the one in question.
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  • JimPJimP 🖼️ 280 images Cartographer
    I don't use trace. I import a png of the map part, then use multipoly to follow the coastlines, etc. as close as I can. Fractlize once or twice. Hide everything but the png import, delete that. Show everything. Make any updates.

    I'm not very good at following coastlines, etc. but I don't go for too much detail at the continent/hemisphere level.
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