Stencil Maker: Image to Stencil SVG

What makes a good stencil

A stencil is a sheet with openings where the paint goes through. So the design has to be one color, made of solid shapes, with no hairlines that tear when you peel or wash the stencil. The Line art preset on this page produces exactly that: a single black layer, where black marks the openings you cut out and everything else stays as the stencil sheet.

How to make a stencil from an image

1. Pick a high-contrast image. Logos, lettering, silhouettes and bold illustrations work best. For photos, choose one with strong light and a plain background.
2. Drop it above. The Line art preset is selected.
3. Move Threshold to decide how much of the image becomes an opening. More black means bigger openings and a bolder look.
4. Lower Detail to drop tiny specks. Small holes are hard to weed and clog with paint.
5. Set the real size in inches or millimeters, then download the SVG and cut it.

Islands and bridges: read this before you cut

Look at letters like O, A, R and B. When you cut their outline, the middle piece has nothing holding it, so it falls out and your O turns into a solid blob of paint. These loose pieces are called islands. Some dedicated stencil tools add connecting bridges automatically. VectorMaker does not add bridges yet, so plan for them:

• Use a stencil font for text. It already has gaps that hold the islands in place.
• Add bridges by hand. In Cricut Design Space or Silhouette Studio, draw thin rectangles across each island and use Slice or Subtract. In Inkscape, place the rectangles and use Path, Difference.
• Skip bridges for vinyl stencils. Transfer tape holds the islands in place while you apply the stencil, and you weed them after.
• Keep bridges wide enough to survive cutting and cleaning. Around 2 to 3 mm is a common starting point for Mylar.

Material and machine tips

• Cricut and Silhouette: upload the SVG and choose stencil vinyl, Mylar or cardstock as the material.
• Laser cutters: Mylar, cardboard and thin plywood cut cleanly on most diode and CO2 lasers. Never laser cut PVC sheets, which release chlorine gas. Pro adds DXF export if your laser software prefers DXF.
• Spray paint: avoid very thin lines, because paint creeps under narrow strips of stencil.
• Design at the final size. Lines that look bold on screen can be too thin once the stencil is printed or cut small.

Making a stencil from a photo

Portrait stencils with the classic two-tone street art look need some preparation. Raise the contrast in a photo editor, remove the background, and convert the photo to black and white before tracing. Then use Line art and move Threshold until the face reads well in only two tones. For a layered stencil with several shades, use the Logo preset with 2 to 4 colors. Each color is saved as its own path, so you can cut one stencil per shade and spray them in order from light to dark.

Your designs stay private

The stencil is traced inside your browser. Your photo is not uploaded, stored or shared, which matters for client work, family photos and designs you plan to sell.

Frequently asked questions