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[resolved]-Tracing a picture


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Working on my website and finaly got some niggles sorted. For the next step I want to do some tracing. I have on my web a map of the area I jog over but it is very cluttered. I want to do a tracing of the tracks I run on so I can post some of the more interesting things I see about. Any suggstions as to how I can do this. I have Microsoft photo editor and probably other apps on PCA Cd's, Suggestions please. :)

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There's an awful lot of bits mark. I have a feeling that I should open the existing map in an application with some sort of transparent overlay on it. On this I couls trace out what I want, then save or copy this overlay. I could then add this to the page to show the detail that I want.

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Guest nellie2

Yes there is Doug, if you open your picture in Paint and click on the little pencil and then click on the red or whatever colour you want. Go to the bit you want to trace and just hold down your left mouse button and away you go. Takes a bit of practice though.

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Guest nellie2
PS Hope your making progress and have kept a detailed diary for us who will follow in the future  :rolleyes:

Progress.... detailed diary!! I just lurch from one problem to another Doug and hope for the best!!

I'm not going to be around for the next week or I would offer to do this for you myself, but perhaps you could email your pic that you want tracing to someone who has a tablet and some graphics software ...... they could do what ever you need doing and then email the result back to you!!!

Just a thought............. anyone???

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Doug - this is the sort of tablet I mean:

http://www.aiptek.com/

They're in PC World etc. Just the simple sort without all the buttons and bells.

I'd have a go for you...........

Could you not just use tracing paper then scan the page into the computer. I don't really know what it is that you want to show.

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Thanks for the suggestions artist. I have had a got at hand tracing, first time was using greaseproof paper. This I scanned and when I pasted into my website Nellie complimented me on the superb pirates treasure map which looked so old and authentic - all wrinkly. I'm not getting good images from my scanner any more. I also had a go using proper (paid for) tracing paper which I the scanned but again the image was very indifferent. I have downloaded a high resolution map of the area round me and it is just possible to see the track I was running on. I want to post a separate image on which I trace the various tracks and major roads but without the fine detail. I hope the to post photos of what I think are interesting highlights e.g. King Coal that is already on my website. Have a look at "Map showing training route" on my web and you will see that it is not very clear.

I seem to remember an application where you could draw on a layer superimposed over another image and the lift it off but can't remember where the application was. Old age and all that. :blush:

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PaintShopPro5 I think had layers on it and has since been seen on magazine coverdisks as a free/shareware program. (Obviously it's a little long in the tooth as I think they're up to a release of version 8 now, but layers are certainly perfect for what you're talking about.)

Can you post a copy of the image here or a link to it.

I was trying to think around your prob but without knowing either your apps or the map...I find I'm a bear of very little brain. (I'd do it in Photoshop)

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I had another idea about this which may or may not work.

The only real advantage to the layer system is that you get to keep an effective section of interchangeable leaves, but there's no reason you can't do this without the layer option of keeping it all in one document.

Say you make a copy of your map & call it M2. Now mark out on it the running route you're talking about in a thick black line. Now greyscale the page and then turn up both Light and contrast so that you effectively get a 2 tone image - pure black and white. From here it should be fairly easy to remove everything that isn't the route. Because M2 is a duplicate of the original map you can copy and paste it into the original map as a solid line (and you can always drop back into RBG colour and change it to something less ugly than pure black).

In this example you've only got the two images, though there's no reason you can't use a similar procedure creating a multitude of templates based on copies of the original and apply each as a cut and paste job, so that effectively you're working in layers but only applied one at a time.

I'd also suggest you don't ever save over your original map. That way you've always got the original to fall back on.

Hope this perhaps helps.

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