>>2214729there's probably better advice in previous threads but
>gimp's path toolThis is """"vectoring."""" The genuine vector pics in the vector thread are made with inkscape, but I think gimp has faster controls for tracing an artist's hand when you are rendering an image. It usually involves adding a lot of gradual nodes like the one I highlighted in the picture, since humans are not robots that draw mathematically perfect curves.
>make 2 duplicate layers of original image>top will be interior, bottom outline>make black masks for both>on the top layer's mask, "fill path" white but then "stroke path" black with a 2px+ line.That's it for the interior.
Next is killing the figure's halo, the bleed-in from the bg, while preserving our cusps and clean lines
>on the bottom layer's mask, just "fill path" white>APPLY that mask>blur 1-2px>Color -> Levels -> Alpha>squish the range from 0-255 to 0-2, so pixels are basically either opaque or transparent>mask it again with fill pathFor the outline layer you can opt to do various other things to tweak how the outline looks. e.g. I hit these thin hair strands with a blurry paintbrush set to mode HSV Saturation, turning them from deep blue to light grey.
>finally, check the image against a solid background color to make sure everything looks okThe time needed depends on the complexity of the outline and how much practice you have with making nodes.
