Bitmap to vector conversion for 3D text

[Anonymous]

In order to make 3D text for signs, billboards etc. I often use the slab tool to trace over a bitmap logo from a client. I tried to use the same technique on an elaborate logo but the result was substandard.

I'm trying to create a vector file of the logo using a combination of Adobe Streamline and/or Freehand and Photoshop but I've had no luck importing the file into ArchiCAD for 'magic wanding.'

Has anyone found a technique for creating 3D text in ArchiCAD based on a complex bitmap file?

[Rob]

Dear Greg,

the feature you are asking for is called Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and unfortunately there is no such a tool in Archicad. What I can think of now is Corel GRAFIGO, a successor of Corel TRACE, more info: (www.corel.com). I have used it few times and it worked fine for me. It allows you to save "traced" bitmap in major vector formats like DXF,DWG and other rubbish... which you can import to archicad as an autocad file.

[Karl Ottenstein]

Greg wrote:
I tried to use the same technique on an elaborate logo but the result was substandard.

I'm trying to create a vector file of the logo using a combination of Adobe Streamline and/or Freehand and Photoshop but I've had no luck importing the file into ArchiCAD for 'magic wanding.'

Since you say 'elaborate logo', you might consider Adobe Illustrator which has a feature called Live Trace which traces changes in color with vectors that can be exported as DWG and then brought into ArchiCAD. Since you mention the other Adobe products, I assume you probably have Illustrator as part of a Creative Suite package. Or try the 30 day demo.

Live Trace is pretty clever compared to older such technologies because...it is live/dynamic. You move sliders to indicate the number of colors to consider in a remapped image, the number of pixels in an area, etc. and then can preview the result in various ways as you adjust things to your satisfaction.

In this and subsequent posts (1 screenshot per post limitation of forum), I'll show one possible trace of the Cigraph ArchiForma logo. I started with the small 200 x 200 pixel, noisy jpeg attached here - which is why the results are not better. You want a higher resolution, and ideally, no compression noise image to start with.

(continued...)

Karl

[Karl Ottenstein]

Here, then, is a screenshot from Illustrator CS3 live trace. Trace lines are in cyan, and I set the display options to show the reduced color fills that would correspond to the current tracing...

[Karl Ottenstein]

Illustrator can export in dwg or dxf (and other) formats. Here is the export dialog. Note at the bottom the option for 'outline' text. If this is not checked, any text in the document is exported as text - and arrives in the dwg and ArchiCAD as that. If it is checked, text is exported as linework outlines and interior fills...

[Karl Ottenstein]

This is after some magic wanding of the imported dwg in ArchiCAD - floating above a slab to cast a little shadow.

[Karl Ottenstein]

The linework had lots of points on it, no doubt because of the small, grainy original image - and the settings I chose. So, the magic wanded slabs had quite a few edges.

Here is the dwg - with sample text saved as outlines - so you can see what the output of Illustrator is like.

Cheers,
Karl

PS This is probably the most time I've spent in Illustrator yet - one of those CS3 programs that I haven't really had a need for. So, if there are more detailed illustrator questions, someone else will have to answer them! 😉

[Chazz]

The problem with using Illustrator in the workflow is the horrible DWG export results. Curves all turn to jagged stair-steps or unusable node-filled horrors. I hoped that CS4 would be better (and it is in lots of ways) but the DWG exporter appears largely unchanged. I would love to find a cross-platform solution to the problem of getting eps/ai type data into ArchiCAD.

[Anonymous]

sashu100 wrote:
You can try this tool....OCR Image to Text Conversion Tool 2.0.2728.31801.... hope it works....

appreciate, it's useful