Incorporating Images into Vector Files

It's possible to place images in vector drawings in much the same way they're placed in page layouts. It's accepted practice in page layout to link the images rather than embed them, and this same approach is an option when incorporating images in vector artwork. However, linking images rather than embedding them can cause some problems when the finished artwork is placed into another document, such as a page-layout file. If, in the heat of battle, you neglect to send the linked images along with the parent vector file, things will understandably fall apart.

The alternative is to embed the image in your vector drawing as you create the EPS, so that it can't fall by the wayside. Embedding, as you might expect, increases the size of the resulting EPS file. It's pretty easy math. If you've embedded a 2 MB image, you'll be adding 2 MB to your final size. But you have to remember to choose the option to embed images, rather than link them.

Fortunately for us, we live in civilized times. Whereas earlier versions of FreeHand and Illustrator didn't do so, current versions present users with the option to embed images as they export an EPS. You can then fearlessly send your EPS out into the world, fully outfitted with its outlined text and embedded images. By the way, it's also possible to embed images in native Illustrator and FreeHand files, if you just feel compelled to put all your eggs in one digital basket.

What if it's subsequently necessary to color correct an image embedded in an EPS or drawing file? If you created the file, and still have the image, just do the corrections and replace the image in the drawing. But if there's no access to the original image, what do you do?

FreeHand allows the extraction of embedded images via the Links option in the Object panel (Window > Object). While Illustrator doesn't offer such a straightforward method for image extraction, you can cheat. Select the embedded image in the Illustrator file, and then copy it the clipboard. Launch Photoshop and choose File > New. A new, blank document is created that's the same size as the clipboard contents. Select Edit > Paste, and voilà (which is French for "add extracted image"), there's the image.

Imported images aren't the only pixel-based content that is possible in drawings. As vector-drawing programs have evolved, they have increasingly offered painterly effects that don't look at all like vector artwork. That's because they aren't vector artworkthey're made of pixels. Effects such as feathered edges, blurs, and soft shadows are generated as pixels, and, as such, are subject to the same restrictions that apply to scanned images. Artwork containing such elements should not be scaled up in page layouts or other applications beyond a reasonable level.

Note

For more details on issues pertaining to creating and imaging these special effects, see Chapter Ten, "Illustrator Production Tips," and Chapter Eleven, "FreeHand Production Tips."