How to Trace an Object in InDesign
By Elizabeth Mott
If you're producing page layouts for brochures and other promotional materials for your business in Adobe InDesign, you may want to use a tracing of part of an image in a layout instead of the original photograph or drawing. Although InDesign doesn't offer a tracing tool or feature, you can use its drawing capabilities to build loosely drawn or detailed representations of the elements contained in bitmaps and other graphics.
Preparation
Press "Ctrl-D" to open the Place dialog box, and then navigate to the location of the graphic you want to trace. After you select the file and click on the "OK" button, Adobe InDesign loads your cursor with a small representation of the file you're placing. Click on a blank document page to place the file on it.
Open the "Window" menu and choose "Layers" to reveal the Layers panel. Press and hold the "Alt" key, and then click on the unlabeled Create New Layer button at the bottom of the panel to open the New Layer dialog box.
Name your layer. Open the "Color" drop-down menu to choose a layer color that contrasts well with the tones in the image you're tracing. The layer color also serves as the color of the lines you create with InDesign's drawing tools, so if it's too similar to your image, you'll have trouble seeing what you're drawing.
Click the "OK" button to create your tracing layer. In the Layers panel, click in the column between the visibility eye and the name of the listing for the layer that contains your tracing subject. The padlock icon that appears signifies that you've locked your base layer, protecting it from accidental changes.
Pen Tool
Press "P" to switch to the Pen tool, which draws straight lines and bezier curves. Click once at the edge of the item you're tracing to set an initial anchor point. If your drawing begins with a curve, click and drag in the same direction as the shape you're following.
Click, or click and drag, to set a new anchor point at each location in which the outer contour of the shape you're tracing changes direction. A click produces a corner point, from which straight lines emerge in two directions. When you click and drag, you draw curves that contain smooth points. You can combine the two types of points to trace shapes that consist of a mixture of curves and corners.
Continue your tracing around the perimeter until you return to the beginning of the path you're drawing. When you place your pointing device over the initial anchor point, a small circle appears to the right of the pen-shaped cursor. Click to close the shape and complete the path.
Press "A" to switch to the Direct Selection tool so you can manipulate the location of individual anchor points and the control handles that enable you to reshape the curves they define. Press "=" to switch to the Add Anchor Point tool, or the hyphen key to switch to the Delete Anchor Point tool. The former enables you to add new anchor points wherever you click on the path you've drawn, while the latter enables you to click on and remove an existing anchor point. To change a corner point into a smooth point and vice versa, press "Shift-C" to access the Convert Direction Point tool.
Pencil Tool
Press "N" to switch to the Pencil tool. Click and drag the tool around the perimeter of the shape you want to trace. A trail of faint blue dots follows your cursor as you draw.
Complete as much of the trace as you can draw in one pass, without releasing your pointing device. To continue the drawing, place your cursor on the anchor point that appears on the open end of the partial path you've drawn, click, and then continue drawing.
Press and hold the "Alt" key while you're drawing, and release the pointing device to close the path. Release the "Alt" key once you see the path close.
Use the Pencil tool to edit the path you've drawn. If you draw over part of the shape, InDesign reshapes the path.
Finishing Touches
Use the Swatches panel to choose a fill and stroke color for your tracing, or the Gradient panel to assign a graduated fill. When satisfied with the shape you've drawn, unlock the base layer of your document, switch to the Selection tool, click on the image you placed as a tracing source, and then press "Backspace" to delete it.
Press and hold down the "Alt" key, and then click on the name of your tracing layer in the Layers panel to select your drawing. Drag the square color dot at the right edge of the layer listing down to the base layer's listing. InDesign moves your tracing to your base layer.
Drag the tracing layer's listing to the trashcan at the bottom of the Layers panel. InDesign deletes the layer.
Tips
Adobe InDesign's drawing tools automatically assign the current fill and stroke as the color scheme for the next piece of artwork you draw. To minimize distractions while you're drawing, set both fill and stroke to None so you can see the path as it takes shape.
To set options for the Pencil tool, including how faithfully it follows your drawing strokes and how you use it to edit your work, double-click the tool in the Toolbox.
To close an open Path, open the "Object" menu, locate its "Paths" submenu, and then choose "Close Path."
To split a path, press "C" to switch to the Scissors tool, and then click on an anchor point or between anchor points to cut the path where you click.
Warnings
Use as few anchor points as possible when you draw with the Pen tool, to enhance the smoothness of your drawing and maximize the efficiency of your path. Extraneous anchor points can add bumps to the line.
References
Resources
- Adobe InDesign CS6 Classroom in a Book; Adobe Creative Team
Writer Bio
Elizabeth Mott has been a writer since 1983. Mott has extensive experience writing advertising copy for everything from kitchen appliances and financial services to education and tourism. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in English from Indiana State University.