Tracing a face in illustrator

[Grandpa Stu]

so i'm currently tracing a face in illustrator and from what i can tell it's gonna take a long long time.

so i was wondering if anyone here has ever done this and if so if you got any tips for me that might make this tedious task easier.

right now i'm taking the pen tool and pretty much just outlining everything and it just seems like there has to be a better way to do this.

[Grandpa Stu]

oh, and i ilke usuing smart guides, but they can be a major pain in the ass at times too. is there a way i can have it enabled so i know i'm clicking on an endpoint in my path but then like hitting a key to temporarily disable them so they are out of my way as i'm trying to position the next point?

[Transient]

I would definitely suggest you borrow a tablet from someone. Also, are you using Illustrator CS2?

edit: as for smart guides, you can always try using the shortcut (ctrl-u I think)

[Grandpa Stu]

i think i can use the tablet my dad has since he never uses it. that should definantly make things go much much faster.

as for the ctrl-u, it doesnt work. i need something that can toggle it while i'm holding down the mouse button.

[Canis]

Scan it in, put a layer over it, and trace...

[brisk]

Since CS2, you can just cheat. LIVE TRACE BABY!!!!!!!

But yeh, its not perfect.

And tracing in illustrator does take a long time if the image is complex, thats just the way it is. As soon as you master the way bezier curves and paths operate though, you'll learn to do it faster.

[brisk]

I did this in illustrator, and even though its only one colour, it still took a few hours. If you can't be bothered doing it all at once, then just do it in stages. Take a break between sections.

[Geebs]

and get a tablet