Low Quality Raster LOGO Reconstruction in Vector Format

Preparation

In the case of a low quality image, try to scan at a higher resolution so that you have a bit more to work with.

Clean Up in Photoshop

The steps needed to prepare the low quality image for a Live Trace could be done in the following. Adjust the levels of white, black, and grey with the levels until the image has a nice high contrast. Alternatively, if your image is only in black and white you can adjust contrast and then adjust levels.

Live Trace in Illustrator

Live Trace is good for making a base layer for you to work off on. It does grab a lot of the pixelation if you are not careful. I created the best version I could by using the Three-Color option and then changing any colors I needed.

Logo Reconstruction Using the PEN Tool in Illustrator

Recreating the logo using the pen tool was a bit harder but had a overall better end result. After making sure that only the stroke was visible, I began to make the oval and then later the Bat symbol. The oval was easy to create, clicking and then getting to the radius of the oval that I wanted, I then curved the line to best fit and repeating the process to finish the oval off. The Bat was done in the same manner. I didn't need to add or subtract any anchor points as I was pretty satisfied with what I got.

File Formats

After scanning the image, it was saved as a .tiff
In photoshop, after tweaking the image a bit, it had been saved as a .psd
Once done with the logo in Illustrator, it had been saved as .ai
For delivery it had been saved as a .jpg

Advice on Vector Creation

Be patient and take your time, its very easy to get frustrated and it will make you want to throw your computer through a wall.