Does anyone know of decent scanner software which will allow me to scan and convert fairly simple 2D drawings into vector graphics?

there's a "vector" forum here so you might ask there. Lots of software to create them but I don't know about converting. I think its not doable, but then again, geniouses in the computer world seem to be proving me wrong every so often. I think Aldus pagemaker and Adobe Illustrator are good for vector graphics. Whether they convert or not I can't say. too bad MS ditched their vector graphics draw program that came with Word 2.0. It was really good.

Oh, the old micrographics Draw program was good for vector graphics too. I still have and use that. MG Magic and Draw were incorporated into the newer products and they just aren't the same. The old Magic and Draw were written for win 3.1 and had memory leakage problems. Using them on Win98 and ME fixed all that without any patches. I still use it on ME, but haven't tried on Win2k yet. I have PS 5.5 and 6 (but hardly ever use 6). I'm finding that images can be brought into MG Magic and I can size them for print directly from that program. In PS, I have to export and use Word to import and size for the print area. What a joke. Also, the old Magic lets me lighten or darken the image for the printer and quite frankly, has better resolution than Word.

All I want to do Eric is to take some simple sketch ideas and convert them to a format that I can then play with in any one of my graphics programs. I thought a vector format would give me the most freedom. I have literally over 400 character sketches that I want to work with and instead of drawing them all over again, I would like to scan them in to be able to work with them. I need to resize some, shade others, apply to scenes etc. Any other ideas?

CorelDRAW has a tracing program that does a fairly adequate job of converting black and white line art (bitmaps) to vector drawings. They can then be exported as WMF's or other vector graphic formats. Sometimes when they add too many points to the drawings, you have to go in an edit them. I had pretty good luck with it years ago, but haven't used it since I discovered 3D. I think you have to get the full Corel suite to get the tracing program, but I'm not sure. I usually did the Corel trace thing, then go in and sometimes had to redraw where the program missed. And MicroGraphix Draw did have an outstanding tracing program years ago, but I think its long gone.

Lapis,Adobe Streamline 4.0,will do all of what your looking for!

Thanks everyone. I think I'll check out streamline. If this works, I will be one happy camper. I don't really want to have to redraw every one of 400 characters. Thanks again

Adobe stuff is usually pretty pricey... Paint Shop Pro 7 does vector qraphics..has a direct import from scanner of digital camera, etc... Bought my PSP7 anniversary for $39 after rebate.... Usually sells for around $99...but on sale for much less if you look around. I also have Expression 1.0 It is a vector drawing program. Creature House is now selling version2

I got the full, sealed, boxed version of Streamline 4.0 off eBay for $20 or $30 bucks (it's been a while--and I still haven't tried it). But its sole purpose, I believe, is bitmap to vector conversion. I used Corel Trace in the past. It worked well if the drawings were simple enough; too much detail and you may as well draw them over again.

Thanks Dave-so and Jackson. I will try both. This should move me one step closer in enhancing these characters. Thanks. Jackson is in the house. Nice to see you posting again.