For a few weeks, VectorMagic is not for free anymore.

http://vectormagic.com/

I used it several times for my business, when I had to re-build some logos, where the clients lost their logo-data, to get a usable path-file for producing signs and stickers. Maybe some of you were using it too, and now looking for an alternative. Illustrator has the "Interaktiv Abpausen"-function (just know the German words for it), but it does not offer the functions of VectorMagic.

What do you use for getting path-files out of fotos, without using the pen-tool? Or would you recommend to pay for this service in future? (what I would be ready for, because its a cool feature for my workflow...)

in photoshop select > color range
if it's a simple logo, play with 'fuzziness' for greater accuracy

I've always favored OnOne's "Make Work Path" function inside of MaskPro when I need to make tight vectors from bitmap images. However, VectorMagic does appear to be better than anything else I've seen out there so far.



BTW, Tofu did post an announcement about VectorMagic's free ending in the NEWS about a month ago.

I was using it earlier... its not free anymore but you can still download a low res .png of your work.

the .png is not really practical for my needs, selecting by color-range isnt too...

They are going to sell a desktop app too! maybe you want to look into that.

CorelTrace, part of the Corel apps suite
Illustrator CS2/CS3 Live Trace
Photoshop - Paths - Make work path (from selection), export path to Illustrator