Convert selection into bezier vector curve

[minotorious]

Hello all,

I have a texture with a line on it as shown below, and I want to select the line using the magic wand tool and convert said selected line into a bezier vector curve in order to import it as an .svg file into Blender. Is there a way to do that in Photoshop CC?



Thank you all for the help in advance and if you need further information to help me out please let me know.

 

[MrToM]

...Is there a way to do that in Photoshop CC?...

Sure....but its not very good.

Create your marquee by whatever means are best for you.
In the 'PATHS' panel click the 'Make work path from selection...' icon at the bottom of the panel...its 4th from left.

You can then export the path as an AI file or whatever Blender requires.

You'll probably find that the result isn't very good and will need some clean-up.

Regards.
MrToM.

 

[minotorious]

In that case, would you recommend some other software package as more appropriate?

 

[MrToM]

Well the obvious answer would be to use vector based software, not raster based software.

You don't really need any other software though, you can still do it in PS...just draw the thing out with the 'Pen' tool....wouldn't take 5 mins if that, and the result would be just as good as any vector based software....after all a vector is a vector regardless of what software is used to create it.

To clean up the mess from a 'selection' conversion would take considerably longer.

One other thing too....you mention Bezier curves....well PS doesn't create true Bezier curves so if you really need them then you have no choice but to use proper vector based software.

I've no idea if any other 'Adobe' product uses true Bezier curves but PS certainly does not.

Regards.
MrToM.

 

[minotorious]

Thank you for the answer, after a few failed attempts I decided it wasn't worth the effort to try cross-program importing/exporting and I just created the bezier curve in Blender by hand.

 

[Tom Mann]

MrToM : In post #4, you said that the pen tool in PS is not based on Bezier curves:

"One other thing too....you mention Bezier curves....well PS doesn't create true Bezier curves so if you really need them then you have no choice but to use proper vector based software.
I've no idea if any other 'Adobe' product uses true Bezier curves but PS certainly does not."


That statement is simply not true. For example, take a look at the following:

http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/selections/pen-tool-selections/
- - - scroll down to the section titled: "Why is it called the "pen" tool?"

http://photoshopcafe.com/tutorials/pen/pen.htm
- - - Notice the statement: "In Photoshop (and other Adobe programs), the mathematical name for the lines that determine vectors is Bézier curves."

http://www.automotiveillustrations.com/tutorials/adobe-photoshop-vector-paths.html
- - - The origin of Bezier curves was in the automotive industry, so I thought it appropriate to provide a citation from that area. Note the statement: "It can also create graceful bends, curves, and other PostScript shapes that are referred to as Bézier Curves (named after French mathematician and engineer Pierre Bézier)."

- - - Also note the major section titled: "Creating Bezier Curves & Drawing Paths with the Pen Tool".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bézier_curve
- - - This link provides a good introduction to the mathematics behind Bezier curves, and, like the previous citations, also points out that these mathematical constructs are what powers the pen tool in numerous graphics applications.

Numerous other web pages describe how Bezier paths created in PS can be accurately exported into a Bezier based SVG file, into AI directly, and into many other Bezier based applications. If the math behind PS's paths was not also Bezier based, such conversions would be fraught with problems.

Perhaps what you were thinking about was the limitation that since the most common forms of Photoshop output is as bitmaps (eg, JPG, TIF, etc. files), anything created in PS using the pen tool usually winds up eventually being rasterized. Of course, if you directly export the paths themselves from PS, this conversion does not occur.

HTH,

Tom M

 

[MrToM]

...In post #4, you said that the pen tool in PS is not based on Bezier curves...

That statement is simply not true.

Regards.
MrToM.

 

[Tom Mann]

That statement is simply not true.
Regards.
MrToM.

What do you mean? I provided a quote in which you said, "...PS doesn't create true Bezier curves..." and then cited numerous sources to the contrary.

Tom M

 

[IamSam]

Tom, I think he's conveying that he didn't say that the Pen Tool was not based on Bezier curves, he stated that it didn't create true Bezier curves.

 

[Tom Mann]

But it does create true Bezier curves. That why I provided all those citations and why I made my comment about exporting paths to AI and other programs. Because of this, all PS needs to do to export the path is to export a small list of the Bezier coefficients for each curve (path) segment. The recipient programs read them in as is, and without any ambiguity reproduce exactly the same path.

T

 

[IamSam]

But it does create true Bezier curves.

T

For me, that is the big question. I'm very interested in this and would like to see information supporting both sides.

 

[Tom Mann]

Given that Bezier curves have become *the* standard since the 1960's in essentially all graphics programs including things like PostScript, other page description and animation languages like Flash, etc. (see the Wikipedia article I cited), why in the world would Adobe make up something different just for PS when they are already doing true Bezier curves in AI and need to communicate with these other software products?

To be honest, Bezier curves (ie, the mathematics behind them) are so incredibly successful at what they do, I can't even think of a single reasonable competitor. If there is one, I would love to hear about it.

T