Will it keep my line weight?

As shapes, yes: each line keeps its swell and taper. The finest marks, such as a single hair, can thicken or drop out, so look at those up close before you keep the file.

Can I convert line art to SVG for free?

Converting and previewing are free, with no sign-up. One credit keeps the file, every format included.

Does it work on a pencil sketch?

It reads best when the lines are dark. Soft pencil can break up, so go over it in ink or raise the contrast before you scan.

Does it work on a drawing from Procreate?

Yes. Export it as a large PNG and drop that here. A guide covers the export settings that convert best.

Can I use line art on a Cricut?

Yes. To cut around it, keep the ink as shapes. To draw it with a pen, turn on single lines, so the pen follows the middle of each line. Thick and thin ink can leave a few small loops where lines meet, so check the preview first.

Can ChatGPT turn line art into a vector?

Not on its own: it paints pixels. Connect VecSnap to ChatGPT and ask for an SVG of the drawing, in ink or as single lines; or drop the picture here.

Is an SVG better than a PNG for line art?

For anything that changes size, yes: an SVG's lines stay sharp at any size and you can edit them. A PNG is fine where the size never changes.

Line art to SVG converter

Line art to SVG, crisp at 400%.

Drop a scan or a photo of your drawing. VecSnap draws your lines again as real curves, so they stay sharp at any size, with far fewer anchor points than a tracer leaves.

Drop an image here

PNG, JPG, WebP, AVIF, GIF, BMP, TIFF or SVG · Up to 10 MB

or paste it with ⌘CommandV

It is free, and your first 3 downloads are on us.

Converting and previewing are free
One credit keeps the file, every format included

VecSnapup close, points on

potrace, the same picture7,437VecSnap's SVG844anchor points

To vectorize line art, scan or photograph the drawing and drop it on VecSnap, then choose what the SVG holds: the ink as filled shapes, which keep the thick and thin of each line for print and design, or single lines, one path down each stroke, for a Cricut pen, foil or a laser. Both are vectors, and you can check either at any zoom before you keep it.

Updated Nov 10, 20262 sources ↓

Ink or one line

Should line art be outlines or single lines?

It depends where the file goes. Print, design and the web want the ink kept as shapes. A pen, foil or a laser wants one line down each stroke.

A black brush-ink drawing of a garden snail on a leaf, its shell a clean spiral, each line swelling and tapering, on white paper: the ink kept as filled shapes — 844 anchor pointsEach line keeps its thick and thin. For a shirt, a poster, a logo, Figma or Illustrator.

A black brush-ink drawing of a garden snail on a leaf, its shell a clean spiral, each line swelling and tapering, on white paper: single lines, one path down each stroke — 83 in of penA path down each stroke, with a few small loops where thick ink meets. For a Cricut pen, foil, a plotter or a laser score. 153 in round both edges of the same drawing.

One credit keeps both, every format included. The pen's path at 6 in wide. An example we picked.The single line converter

The drawing, opened

One brush drawing, opened.

Drag the line across this snail to set its pixels against VecSnap's shapes, then put potrace beside them and count the points each one needs.

OriginalVecSnap

An example we picked, made with Gemini.

Read asLossy WebP · quality 90

Anchor points

88% fewer

File size

92% lighter

In the file

51 paths

Convert your file

Up close

Why does traced line art look rough up close?

A tracer follows the pixels, and a scan's edge is soft, so it draws the gray steps of that edge as shapes of their own. VecSnap draws the line you meant.

Original

2,048 pxthe WebP as uploaded, its own pixels

potrace

7,437anchor points in the whole file

VecSnap

844anchor points in the whole file

The blacks

How do I get clean black lines from a scan?

Scan at 300 dpi or photograph it flat in daylight, then drop it here. The scan's many grays come back as a few flat colors you can pick and change.

Count the colors

A brush-ink drawing of a snail, as the picture was made — 2,192distinct colors in the picture

A brush-ink drawing of a snail: VecSnap's SVG — 3colors in the SVG

In “Every color”, each distinct color takes its own hue, ranked by how much of the file it covers: one rule for both files, worked out in your browser from the files themselves.

On any ground

Can the white behind line art be transparent?

The paper around the drawing is gone. The areas your lines close stay white, which is what a coloring page or a sticker wants.

A black brush-ink drawing of a garden snail on a leaf, its shell a clean spiral, each line swelling and tapering, on white paper, on white card

A black brush-ink drawing of a garden snail on a leaf, its shell a clean spiral, each line swelling and tapering, on white paper, on kraft

A black brush-ink drawing of a garden snail on a leaf, its shell a clean spiral, each line swelling and tapering, on white paper, on navy card

In your own tool

How do I vectorize line art in Illustrator or Inkscape?

Illustrator and Inkscape each have a tracer with its own settings. Photoshop has none, so you work from a selection, and the pen tool is always there.

IllustratorImage Trace
- Pick a preset or a mode, then Expand
- Its Info line shows the anchor points
Read the Image Trace guide
InkscapeTrace Bitmap
- Brightness cutoff keeps the ink
- Centerline tracing draws one line
Read the Trace Bitmap guide
PhotoshopA path from a selection
- Select the ink, then Make Work Path
- Set the path's tolerance by eye
Read the Photoshop guide
By handThe pen tool
- Right when a drawing needs judgment no tracer has
- Worth the hours on a piece that matters