Stitch Era - digitizing a portrait photograph

Introduction

Tutorial home page: Stitch Era embroidery software
Learning goals: Be able to import vector graphics or bitmap files; Be able to vectorize a bitmap file, i.e. turn it into a vector graphic; Be able to digitize a vector graphic
Prerequisites: Stitch Era embroidery software (in particular be able to create a new design).
Related pages: none
Materials: You can reuse the pictures. In the wiki, click on picture to make it larger, then click again and save it.
Quality and level: This text should technical people get going with Stitch Era. I use it for an optional master degree course in educational technology.
Last major update: September 2011. Since then some features e.g. file import was improved. Also the menu organization did change somewhat. We will try to fix this in some near future - Daniel K. Schneider (talk) 15:59, 17 August 2017 (CEST)
Next steps

Stitch Era - adjusting stitch sections explains how to change parameters embroidery sections, e.g. stitch density, fill patterns, etc. after and auto-digitizing procedure.
Stitch Era - creating embroidery from raster images. Create embroidery from simple and relatively clean raster images (e.g. *.png or *.jpg files)
Stitch Era - vector graphics. You don't necessarily need to learn how to draw vector graphics that you then can convert to embroidery (stitch sections). However, you will be able to speed up your work and you also could reuse principles (e.g. Bezier drawing) for manipulating stitch sections as well as in other multi-media programs.

Digitizing images is very difficult. Digitzing portrait images is a bit easier that digitizing landscapes. The basic principle is:

Simplify the picture
Modify contrast, saturation and luminosity so that the person's feature stand out best.
Reduce to 16 to 20 colors, then union the colors
Vectorize with some hole filling and smoothing values
Union little vectors