8.3 | Image Trace

Key Terms

Trace Preset: A built-in starting configuration in the Image Trace panel (for example, Black and White Logo, High Fidelity Photo, 3 Colors, Line Art) that sets sensible defaults for threshold, color count, and path handling for a given kind of source image.
Ignore White: An Image Trace option that treats white areas of the source image as transparent instead of tracing them as opaque white shapes. Useful for a logo that needs to sit on a colored background.
Threshold: In Black and White tracing mode, the brightness value (0–255) that decides whether a given pixel becomes black or white in the traced result. Raising it converts more midtones to black.
Expand: The step that converts a live Image Trace result into actual, editable vector paths. Before expanding, the trace is just a live preview linked to the placed raster image, and its individual paths can’t be selected or edited.

Image Trace doesn’t just outline a picture. It rebuilds it as real, scalable vector paths. The raster image goes in flat and fixed-resolution; real, editable artwork comes out.

Back in Unit 2 you learned why a raster image gets blurry when it’s scaled up, and a vector never does. Today’s tool is the bridge between the two: hand a raster image to Image Trace, and it builds you an editable vector version.

[10 Mins] Bell Ringer / Hook

Here’s a logo, zoomed in twice: one version turns to mush, one stays perfectly crisp. Which one started as a raster photo, and which one went through Image Trace?

“Both started as the same raster file. One got traced into vectors first. Let’s build that ourselves.”

[10 Mins] Direct Instruction

“I Do”: using a scanned hand-drawn sketch, the teacher live-demos:

Placing the raster image and opening the Image Trace panel (Window > Image Trace).
Applying the Black and White Logo preset, adjusting Threshold up and down to show how it changes what becomes black vs. white.
Switching presets to 3 Colors on a different, more colorful source image, and enabling Ignore White to drop the background.
Adjusting Paths, Corners, and Noise sliders to clean up stray specks and smooth jagged edges.
Clicking Expand and showing that the result is now real, selectable, editable vector paths. No longer a live trace linked to the original raster.

Check for Understanding Recall: “What button turns a live Image Trace result into actual editable paths?” Analysis: “Why did raising the Threshold slider turn more of the image black?” Synthesis: “A client hands you their old logo as a blurry JPEG with no source file. Walk through, in order, the steps you’d take to get them a clean, scalable vector version.”

[23 Mins] Guided Practice

Image Trace Reference

Complete the handout, three hole punch it, and keep it in your class binder.

⬇ Download Worksheet (PDF)

Pair-share (2 min): compare with your partner which Threshold setting you’re choosing on the same source image, and why.

Place your assigned source image and open Image Trace.
Choose an appropriate preset for your image (Black and White Logo for high-contrast art, 3 Colors or higher for a photo).
Adjust Threshold (if applicable) and the Paths/Corners/Noise sliders until the result is clean. No stray specks, no lost important detail.
Expand the result into real vector paths and confirm you can now select individual paths.

[30 Mins] GMetrix / BrainBuffet Self-Guided Strand

Continue GMetrix Module 5. Dobson Business Card. Image Trace lives directly inside this module. Today’s classroom lesson is the strongest one-to-one match with the GMetrix strand of anything in Unit 8.

[5 Mins] Exit Ticket / Wrap-Up

Save your file as LastName_FirstName_8_3_ImageTrace.ai.

🗂 Organize: Put one sentence naming which preset you used and one setting you adjusted from its default in your binder. Save your traced-and-expanded file (before/after screenshots) in the Photos folder of your Digital Design project folder on Google Drive.

📤 Exit Ticket: Emoji Meter. On a scrap of paper, draw ONE face that matches how confident you feel about today’s skill: 🙁 (not yet), 😐 (getting there), or 🙂 (got it). Then explain why in at least 3 sentences (aim for 5), connecting your answer to something specific from today, not just a general feeling.

Stuck on how to start? Try: “I drew ___ because ___. Specifically, when I tried to ___, I ___. Next time I want to ___.”