If you work with digital photos, you are probably familiar with the term "bitmap", ie. with pictures that are formed from many clusters of pixels. They usually come in JPEG, PNG, TIFF formats..
But in vector graphics, not pixels are used for drawing, but digital paths. Since vectors have only a start and an end point, their size can be adjusted to suit any need - the vectors will stretch proportionally.
If you stretch the bitmap to fit the billboard, every pixel will be visible to everyone. Vector graphics, on the other hand, always look sharp, which makes them especially useful, for example, when working with logos that may need to be printed both on a fountain pen and on the tail of an airplane..
There are many online tools that can convert any bitmap to a neat vector file. In this roundup, we'll introduce you to the best of them - both paid and free.
Vectorizer
Supported formats: PNG, BMP, JPEG.
Output format: SVG, EPS, DXF.
Price: Free Limited / Premium..
Vectorizer has a simple interface with a ton of features, including presets like Clip Art and Tattoo. After working with the settings, I almost succeeded in giving the vector the gradient of the original, but without it the vector looked smoother. If you open the screenshot, you will see that all the colors are in place, the edges are smooth and the images are ready for any scaling.
VectorMagic
Supported formats: JPG, PNG, BMP, GIF.
Output format: SVG, EPS, PDF.
Price: To download files, you need a paid subscription for 449 rubles.
VectorMagic service has a beautiful and user-friendly interface. Just drag the image you want into it and click the Convert button. The resulting file can be saved in the format: SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics), EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) or PDF (Portable Document File).
Fully Automatic Mode allows you to automatically convert images into vectors, but you can also do it manually, depending on the settings. Unfortunately, you cannot download a ready-made vector file without a paid subscription. But the service does an excellent job - the lines become smooth, there are no pixel edges.
Photopea
Supported formats: JPG, PNG, BMP, GIF, PSD.
Output format: SVG, PDF.
Price: Free / Subscription.
Although Photopea is primarily a photo editor, it can also convert a raster file to a vector. After loading the image, you can do the conversion by clicking on Image> Vectorize Bitmap. There will be several options available to play with: Colors, Reduce Noise, and Segmentize.
Like the previous service, Photopea was unable to convert the gradient - something to keep in mind when creating bitmap logos. Still, the edges are smooth and crisp, although the color is slightly lighter than the original.
Autotracer
Supported formats: JPG, PNG, PDF, JPEG.
Output format: SVG, PDF, AI, DXF, EPS, SK, FIG.
Price: Free.
Autotracer decisively discards unnecessary tinsel, leaving only the most necessary settings. For the final vector file, you can set the number of colors, as well as adjust the detail and smoothness.
The result turned out to be good, but again the gradients let us down. The cool thing about Autotracer is that it lets you create a vector with a colorless background using alpha masks - a very useful feature when working with logos.
Vectorization
Supported formats: JPG, PNG, PDF, JPEG.
Output format: SVG, PS, EPS, PDF, DXF.
Price: Free.
Of all the listed services, it is Vectorization.org that has the most concise interface and works exclusively with automatic settings. The service is designed for black and white images. Therefore, a black and white image was loaded. The edges turned out to be smooth, the shapes retained their sharpness, so that the finished image can be stretched to any size without loss of quality.