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Illustrations · line art · embroidery · vinyl

Turn any image into a vector

Illustrations, hand drawings, stickers or a photo for a poster: SVG Harbor turns them into flat-colour vector layers you can scale, cut, embroider or edit. Nothing leaves your device.

  • Flat colour layers
  • Free, no signup
  • Nothing uploaded
Drop an image to vectorize

or · paste with ⌘ V

PresetLogo
Runs on your device · 0 bytes uploadedHow we know
How to

Vectorize an image in four steps

Choose the preset that matches your image first; the rest is fine-tuning.

sprig-drawing.svgPaper removed, ink kept

  1. Drop your image above

    PNG or JPG. A phone photo of a drawing works too, as long as it’s evenly lit.

  2. Pick a preset

    Logo for flat artwork, Line art for drawings, Photo poster for photographs, Cut file for machines.

  3. Set the number of colours

    Embroidery and vinyl work best with few colours. Each colour becomes one thread or one sheet.

  4. Download the SVG

    Import it into your embroidery, cutting or design software as separate layers.

Tips

Tips for illustrations and drawings

Line art

Photograph drawings in daylight, straight from above. The Line art preset drops paper texture and keeps the ink.

Embroidery

Digitising software follows flat shapes. Keep colours to the number of threads you plan to use.

Photo posters

Photos become stylised posters. Try 3 to 6 colours and raise Remove specks for a cleaner look.

Overlapping layers

Layers are stacked to prevent gaps. Turn stacking off under Advanced when shapes must not overlap.

Raster versus vector, in one minute

A raster image is a grid of coloured pixels: photos, PNGs, JPGs. A vector image is a list of shapes with outlines and fills: SVG, EPS, PDF artwork. Vectors scale without blur and can be edited shape by shape.

Converting raster to vector means deciding which pixels belong to which shape. SVG Harbor does that per colour: it clusters the image into a palette, builds a mask per colour and traces each mask into smooth Bézier curves, deciding at every bend whether it is a corner or a curve.

Which images vectorize best?

Images with clear edges and a limited number of flat colours: logos, icons, stickers, comics, signage and ink drawings. Gradients and fine textures can be approximated with more colours, but the result gets larger and more stylised.

FAQ

Image to vector, answered

What is the difference between an image and a vector?
An image (raster) is made of pixels; a vector is made of shapes. Vectors stay sharp at every size and can be edited shape by shape.
Can I vectorize a photo?
Yes, with the Photo poster preset. The result is a stylised poster with a few flat colours, not a photo-realistic copy.
Can I use the result for embroidery?
Yes. Keep the colour count low and import the SVG into your digitising software, which turns each colour into stitches.
Is my image uploaded anywhere?
No. The conversion runs in your browser and the page blocks network requests from the converter. We never receive your images.
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