People often ask how to make a vector image in Photoshop. As you know, Photoshop is a program for processing raster graphics and is not intended for working with vectors. Special graphic editors work with vector graphics. But if you really need it and have time to study new program no, then with the help of some manipulations you can convert the image into a vector.
What are raster and vector images and how do they differ?
A raster image is also a grid of pixels (dots). The familiar digital photo to all of us is precisely a raster image. A vector image does not consist of pixels, but of geometric primitives: straight lines, rectangles and other shapes.
If you reduce and then significantly enlarge a raster image, its quality will be irrevocably damaged. Because each pixel is a point of a certain color, and all these points together make up the picture. When you reduce an image, extra pixels are thrown out, so you can't return it to its original appearance.
Scaling a vector image allows you to change the size without losing quality. This is possible thanks to mathematical recalculations of the sizes of the geometric shapes that make up the image.
A raster image allows you to reliably convey visual information; a vector image does not have this advantage. Vector graphics images can be useful for visualizing logos and line drawings. You won't get photographic beauty from them. Or they will be very complex images, consisting of a huge number of primitives that actually replace pixels.
A simple example of how to convert a raster to a vector
So, the vector consists of geometric shapes. Photoshop has tools for creating paths. The contour is a geometric figure. To make a vector image in Photoshop, you need to create an outline of the image. The group's tools will help us with this. “Selection”/Select: Rectangular Marquee Tool, Elliptical Select Tool,** “Magic Wand Tool” , **Quick Selection Tool And “Pen”/Pen tool.
To make the vector neat, you should choose a raster image as much as possible. good quality, otherwise the contours will need to be drawn manually.
Open the raster image in Photoshop (the most common raster image format is JPG). Logos, outline drawings, and sketches are very easy to process. To get a vector sketch of a portrait, you can first convert the portrait to a sketch using "Filter Galleries", or use ready-made pop art. About how to work with "Filter Gallery" and quickly create pop art from photos, we talked about in previous articles. For this example, we will take a ready-made pop art portrait. We deliberately prepared it from a photo of not the best resolution. Therefore, the vector version will show us a noticeable difference.
To work with contours, you need to call the bookmark "Contours"/Path to the layers palette. To do this, go to the menu "Window" and check the box "Contours"/Path. The bookmark will appear in the Layers palette.
The image has 4 colors (we do not count the background). Take the tool "Magic Wand Tool" and select the first color. To select all areas scattered with islands across the image, hold Shift.
When the first color is selected, select the tool "Lasso"/Lasso or Rectangular Marquee Tool and, without removing the selection, click the right mouse button. IN context menu choose “Make Work Path”.
In the dialog box, specify the maximum smoothing "Tolerance"(from 1 to 10; the lower the number, the better the contours will be repeated). Click Ok.
On the bookmark "Circuit" the first outline will appear. In the image it will be noticeable in the form of curves with dots. They can be aligned and adjusted using a tool “Node Selection”/Direct Selection Tool. Using this tool, select a point and either adjust the curve by moving the point's tendril, or move the arc itself.
On the bookmark "Circuit" change the name of the contour. To do this, double-click on it and change the name in the dialog box.
We carry out all the steps described with the remaining colors. As a result, we get four contours for each color.
Having received the contours, all that remains is to create a vector. Go to the bookmark "Layers" on the layers palette, create a new layer Shift+Ctrl+N. We set the main color to the one in which we paint the first contour.
Returning to the bookmark "Circuit", we stand on the first circuit. In the main menu in the item "Layers" choose “New Fill Color”/New Fill Layer - "Color"/Solid Color. In the window that opens, click Ok.
Now, going to the bookmark "Layers", you will see the first vector layer on the new layer.
In the next dialog box, as usual, specify the file name and path.
That's all. The method is quite simple.
If you often work with vector images, perhaps this article will inspire you to learn new ones. graphic editors. In any case, you have learned another useful method. We wish you great work.
Even more about Photoshop - in the courses.
Tools for working with vectors in Photoshop appeared quite a long time ago, but they began to be used in work relatively recently. This is due to the fact that they were “raw” for a very long time, etc. a vector in Photoshop is not a specialized tool for work, and it has not been modified. But everything changed with the release of Photoshop CC.
Why do you need a vector in Photoshop?
First I want to tell you why I use a vector in Photoshop. There are many proven vector editors. The most common are Illustrator, CorelDraw, Xara. Most often I do web design, which means my work is not the end result. Those. Before becoming a website, interface, or application, the layout will be sent to the layout designer. Most layout designers are fluent in Photoshop, but are very superficially familiar with Illustrator. Therefore, the desire to “stuff” everything into one file is quite logical. It’s great when the layout designer receives one PSD that contains a complete layout and even with the ability to edit elements. Change the color of a button, change the radius of a menu shape, increase or decrease a block without losing quality - in 2 clicks and 1 minute! Vector in Photoshop allows you to do this without any special skills.
Features of working with vectors in Photoshop
If you have worked in any vector editor before, much will seem familiar. But you'll have to get used to a lot. All work in Photoshop is built with layers, this also applies to all vector tools.
1. To easily edit a vector in Photoshop, you need to place each shape on a separate layer.
2. Operations of “merging”, “subtracting”, “overlaying” are best applied to no more than two objects.
3. After the operation of “merging”, “subtracting”, “overlaying”, the contours of the original objects remain available for editing.
4. Raster styles can be easily applied to all vector objects. It is very comfortable.
5. You can apply transparency to vector objects and apply filters to them.
6. Individual layers and groups of layers with vector objects can be easily cloned within a document or copied to another PSD document.
7. Label each layer and group layers - this will save a lot of time.
Basic primitives
As in any vector editor, a vector in Photoshop has ready-made primitives. Basic primitives:
“Rectangle”, “Rectangle with rounded corners”, “Ellipse”, “Polygon”, “Line”, “Freeform”. For each shape (at any time), you can set the thickness/type/color of the stroke and fill. Additional properties are available for specific primitives. For example, for a polygon you can set the number of corners, and for a rectangle with rounded corners you can set the radius of the rounding.
Basic Tools
To draw an arbitrary vector or edit an existing one (including the outline of primitives), you need to use the “Pen” tools (draw an arbitrary outline), “Pen+” (add new anchor points to the finished outline), “Pen-“ (delete anchor points from the finished outline), “Free Pen” (draw an arbitrary outline by hand), “Angle” (change the bends of the contour curves, set the types of connections between anchor points). 
To illustrate the process, a short video from which you will learn:
1. How to create a primitive
2. How to draw a free vector shape
3. How to edit the outline of a primitive
4. How to edit the contour of an arbitrary vector shape
Basic operations with vectors in Photoshop
There are 4 operations available in total: “Merge Shapes”, “Subtract Front Shape”, “Merge Shapes in Overlay”, “Subtract Shapes in Overlay”. All these operations are available through the main top menu Layers > Merge Shapes, or through the “Properties” toolbar (top menu Window > Properties).
Attention! Before you begin any operations to combine vector shapes, make sure that the layers of these shapes are selected in the “Layers” toolbar (turn it on F7 or Window > Layers).
A short video illustrating the basic operations of “merging shapes” in Photoshop.
Change color, size and apply styles
Now we come to the most interesting part. A vector in Photoshop allows you to change the size both up and down without losing quality. To do this, select the desired layers in the “layers” toolbar, press Ctrl+T (or Command+T if you have a MAC) and drag the markers of the selected outline with the mouse to adjust the size. To change the size proportionally, you need to hold down the Shift key. 
Brief video:
1. Resizing the vector shape
2. Change the fill color of the vector shape
3. Add Style to the Vector Shape
Download example PSD (free)
To make it easier for you to figure out how to use a vector in Photoshop and see how these tools can be used in practice, I am posting an Infographic file made by me entirely using vector tools.
Ask a Question
If something doesn’t work out for you or you have any questions, write in the comments and I will help you figure it out. You can also watch the video using vector tools.
While my article about masks in Photoshop is still active, I urgently want to cover the issue of converting a raster into a vector. Two days ago, I logged into my chronophagy Google Analytics and what did I see? It turns out that some people come to my site by requesting “raster to vector”, but meanwhile, on my site there is not a single sensible note on this topic. People are torturing Google to convert raster to vector in Corel Draw, Illustrator and even Adobe Photoshop . Let's start with Photoshop.
From raster to vector. Why is this necessary?
Photoshop is a raster program. The vector is present in it in the form of vector contours. There are no vector objects as such in Photoshop. But there are vector paths that can be converted into a vector mask. The mask is applied to an effect or object and a vector is obtained in Photoshop. The contents of such an object are still raster, but can be converted to a vector when saved in some formats.
For example, we can create a fill and drag a vector mask over it. Photoshop has a whole group of tools that do this for free and automatically, this is a group of vector primitives. For more details, read my article Vector primitives in Photoshop or. So the contour will be vector. Filling inside the raster. 
Photoshop does not work with vector at full power. Only uses its advantages here and there. But even in Photoshop, raster objects can be turned into vector ones. Why is this necessary if you have Illustrator? Well, how can I tell you? When actively working with graphics, different situations arise. Sometimes it’s easier to convert a selection into a path on the spot than to go headlong into Illustrator and do tracing there. To weed a strawberry bed at your dacha, you don’t need to call a combine harvester. In the end, not everyone wants or knows how to use Illustrator, not everyone needs it, not everyone can install it, but you need to convert the squiggle into a vector here and now. It is not at all necessary to sit down with three volumes on Illustrator for a couple of weeks.
Converting raster to vector in Photoshop
What exactly can Photoshop convert into a vector? Anything as long as you select this object with the group tools in advance Select. Photoshop converts any selection into an outline. You can read about selection tools in the article Selection primitives in Photoshop. Let me give you a working example. Many years ago, I was approached by a very difficult customer who requested a complex website. It was necessary to do various art for the site, and I decided to draw it in Photoshop. While drawing, I converted it to vector, and now I'll tell you how. 
Here is one such image that I painted with a hard edge brush on a tablet. I traced the original Vitruvian Man, modified it and drew my own face, different from the original. The idea to vectorize art came by accident. But having implemented it, I got the opportunity to scale a person in any way I wanted. Moreover, previously jagged edges and irregularities were smoothed out after vectorization.
Finding an image to trace
I looked up a butterfly on Google Images. We will convert it into a vector. Please note that the larger the image, the smoother our vector object will turn out. This is true for both Photoshop and Illustrator. By large image I mean a picture that is 1000 pixels wide or more. My butterfly, for example, is from 2000 pixels. 
Selecting an object
Select from menu Tool the most ordinary magic wand Magic Wand Tool and click on the white area. So we have created a selection area, but we need to select the butterfly.
Go to Select > Inverse or click on the work area and select from the menu that appears Select Inverse. The point is that the created selection must be inverted to select the butterfly. To be honest, I don’t really care how you create your selection. Even though you manually trace the lasso, it doesn't make any difference.
Create a vector outline
We have a selected area, now we convert it into a vector path path. Select any selection tool like Lasso Tool, Rectangular Marquee Tool or Magic Wand Tool. Right-click on the selection area and select from the menu that appears Make Work Path. In the menu that appears, set the degree of smoothing Tolerance taste. The dependence is simple. The higher the number, the higher the smoothing. The lower the number, the lower the smoothing. High anti-aliasing means a lower number of vector nodes and more inaccurate raster contour following. In the case of my Vitruvian Man, this is exactly the effect I wanted.
So, in the palette Path We now have a working circuit. If you don't have a palette Path open it Windows > Path Palette working area Path looks like a desktop or temporary home. Different outlines may appear on it, but if you take care of consistent conservation, they will disappear over time. Double click on the outline Work Path and save the outline separately. Contours in the area Path work the same as layers in a palette Layers. If the outline is selected, then it is active and you can work with it.
Tools for working with paths in Photoshop - Path Selection Tool And Direct Selection Tool. We have an outline, but no object. If you've read my series of posts about vectors in Photoshop, you already know that a vector in Photoshop is represented as a vector mask for some kind of effect or graphics. The vector may also be present in the form of a smart layer that links to the imported Illustrator file, but we’ll leave that for another note. Select the outline with the tool Path Selection Tool or in the outline palette Path. Click Layer > New Fill Layer > Solid Color We have created a fill layer, which is immediately assigned a vector mask in the form of our outline.
Finalization of the vector outline
Using the materials that I described in the articles Vector drawing tools in Photoshop and Add, Subtract, Intersect and Exlude in Photoshop, we will complicate the drawing. I took the tool Pen Tool, selected the fill layer mask. In settings Pen Tool exhibited Subtract and added some elements to our butterfly. I cut out patterns on the wings, and made the legs and antennae thicker.
Creating a custom shape Custom Shapes
You can always save the resulting object in arbitrary figures Custom Shapes. Some time ago I mentioned how this can be done in the article Custom Shape Tool in Photoshop. Select the butterfly layer and click Edit > Define Custom Shape Our butterfly appeared in the tool shapes Custom Shapes Tool.
And here's what we ended up with:
Converting a raster photo into a vector in Photoshop is a completely pointless exercise. But sometimes such techniques can be useful for side work with graphics and more.
Converting from raster to vector photography in Photoshop
Photoshop is not designed to convert raster graphics into vector. It, however, contains several special effects that visually create the resemblance of a vector image. And using the technique I described, you can make a vector image from them in Photoshop. Let's take for example an ordinary photograph taken by a photographer I know. 
One of the effects I mentioned is Filter > Artistic > Cutout I leave the settings up to you. The image should be as realistic as possible, but highly smoothed. We could stop here, the image already looks “vector”, but it is still raster.
Now you need to create vector areas equal to the number of colors in the photo. Choose a stick Magic Wand Tool and make sure that the checkbox is not checked in the settings Contiguous. Select the first area and follow the entire path I described above. Create a path from the selection, a filled vector mask from the path, and so on.
In total, the entire photo is converted into vector areas. We will not convert the last white area into a vector. Just draw a big white square with the tool Rectangle Tool and place it under all layers. After some light cleaning and contouring, the photo looks like the image below. And once again, such work is not intended for Photoshop and is rather a perversion. But it can be done, and in various situations such techniques can be useful. Processing the photo took me 10 minutes, so this kind of work doesn’t take up a lot of time. And remember, the larger the photo you arrange into layers in this way, the better and more elastic the outline will be able to go around the selection areas. The less angular and rough our vector will turn out in Photoshop. Various settings Tolerance when creating a contour they will also give different results. Happy experimenting!
Final result 
As you know, vector illustrations are currently very popular in web graphics. Professional designers can create such illustrations in a matter of hours. If you are a beginner or an amateur, web graphics lessons will certainly be extremely useful for you. The purpose of this tutorial is to shed light on the process of creating the selected image. I will demonstrate the entire process step by step and explain all the steps with the help of my comments.
To create a really cool image, you have to choose the desired program and follow certain rules. If you want to draw a vector illustration, you should keep in mind that editors such as Adobe Illustrator or CorelDraw. At the same time, Photoshop has sufficient funds to develop vector illustrations. I will clearly show this in my lesson on how to convert a drawing into a vector. I chose a sketch of a cat as the basis for the illustration. I decided to depict a blue cat with pink flowers in its paws.
Step 1
Let's start by creating the background. Let's draw a shape using the selection tool () (in mode Shape Layers(Shape Layer)). Settings - (Fill Opacity) = 0% . Now use a gradient overlay: ( (Layer Style - Gradient Overlay)) to fill the created shape. All settings are default, you just need to change the angle (I will indicate the degree) and the gradient. Add Stroke(Stroke) ( (Layer Style - Stroke)). We use all the default settings, except for the width in 1 px and colors.
Vector drawings are increasingly used in various printing tools to create beautiful designs from wood, plastic, metal, paper and other materials. Today we will figure out how to do vector drawing do it yourself using Photoshop. Having spent very little time, we will get a high-quality vector drawing, and we will be able to use it in the future without any problems.
How to convert a drawing to vector?
First of all, it should be noted that only drawings that are depicted on a white background can be converted into vector format. If the background is not white, then first you need to remove everything unnecessary and clear the background.
1. Using the selection tools, we select only the element that we want to convert into a vector drawing and copy it to a new layer called “shape”. Then create another layer and fill it completely with white; this layer can be called “background”. Now, move the “background” layer under the “shape” layer and merge them. We call the resulting image “Base”. Copy the “Base” layer twice and name them “Base_1” and “Base_2”. We turn off their visibility.
2. Let's begin our operations to convert the drawing into vector format. First of all, apply the “Isohelium” correction to the “Base” layer in order to get the drawing in black and white format. The first correction does not always produce the desired drawing, so we can make several copies of the layers and make corrections with different meanings until we get what we need.
So we got the most normal effect.
3. Next, we apply the Diffusion filter to the resulting image to remove jagged edges. The path to enable the filter: “Filter - Stylize - Diffusion” (Filter-Stylize-Difuse). In the window that opens, select “Anisotropic”.
4. The next step is to smooth out the edges so that they become sharper, to do this, click “Image - Correction - Levels” (Image-Adjustment-Levels). IN open window move the left and right sliders closer to the center. In order to see the result of the correction, it is best to enlarge the drawing to 300% before opening the levels.
5. We repeat points 3 and 4 in the same order.
6. Turn off the visibility of our main layer and turn on the “Base_1” layer. Perform the action “Image - Correction - Isohelium” (Image-Adjustment-Threshold). Set the parameter at level 138.
7. We perform the operations specified in paragraphs 3,4 and 5 with this layer.
8. Create a new layer and fill it with black. Let's call it "Background". Set it below the “Base” layer. In the “Base_1” layer, change the mode to “Difference”.
Here's what we get:
9. The picture turned out to be a little scary, but we'll fix that now. Make the “Base” layer active and add a layer mask. Then, using an eraser, we can remove excess areas on the girl’s face and body.
10. Now we have a drawing, now we need to convert it to vector. We use the “Magic Wand”, select the entire black area of the picture, and on the image, press the right mouse button, in the menu that opens, select “Create work path”. Set the value to 1.0.
