Vectorize a
hand drawing.

From paper to a scalable vector

Drawing by hand has a quality that is hard to fake, but paper does not scale. A vector version lets you enlarge a sketch for a poster, cut it from vinyl, print it on a shirt or reuse it in a logo. Vetorly converts your photo or scan into shapes with smooth Bézier curves and few nodes, with each color as a separate editable shape. The quality of the photo matters a great deal, so spend two minutes getting it right.

Best drawing materials

Black ink on white paper gives the best contrast. Fine liners, brush pens and markers work well. Pencil is harder: it is pale and uneven, so go over it with ink first or darken it in an editor. Colored drawings convert, but each color becomes a flat area, so soft shading turns into bands.

How to photograph a drawing

1. Use daylight near a window. Avoid direct sun and avoid using a flash.
2. Lay the page flat. Curled paper bends lines and creates shadows.
3. Shoot straight above. Keep the phone parallel to the page so the drawing is not distorted.
4. Fill the frame. Get close enough that the drawing takes up most of the picture, but keep the whole drawing in.
5. Lock focus. Tap the drawing so lines are sharp.

A flatbed scanner is even better if you have one. Scan at a high resolution.

Quick clean-up before uploading

• Crop to the drawing.
• Raise contrast so the paper looks white and the lines look dark.
• Remove ruled lines or grid paper if you can, since they may be traced as shapes.
• Do not over-sharpen, which adds noise.

What to check in the result

1. Compare line weight to the original. Thin pen strokes become filled shapes, so they should still look like the same line.
2. Look for paper texture specks and delete them.
3. Inspect joins where strokes cross. They should look natural.
4. Check enclosed areas in lettering to make sure they are still open.

Keeping the hand-made feel

The AI follows the edges it sees, so wobble and variation in your line are preserved. If you want a neater look, smooth the curves in your editor afterward. For a related job, see vectorize a signature or the general image to vector page. To cut the result on a hobby machine, read turning an image into a cut file.