Everything you need to know about converting bitmaps to clean, scalable SVG vectors.
Overview
Vector Foundry is a browser-based tool that converts bitmap images (PNG, JPG, GIF, WebP) into clean, scalable SVG vectors. The vectorization engine is incredibly fast, delivering results in seconds with a real-time preview as you adjust settings.
There is nothing to install — just open the app and drop an image. The UI stays responsive while the tracer works, so you can iterate quickly and nail the perfect look.
Getting Started
Load an image
Drag and drop any PNG, JPG, GIF, or WebP image onto the canvas. You can also press Ctrl+O or click the open button to browse your files. Processing starts immediately.
Adjust your settings
Use the fidelity slider and other controls on the right panel to dial in the look you want. Try a preset for a quick starting point, then fine-tune from there. The preview updates in real-time.
Export
When you are happy with the result, export your vector as SVG (Ctrl+S) or as a raster image (PNG, JPG, WebP, or GIF). SVG export requires a Pro subscription.
Layers
Vector Foundry has four visualization layers that let you see every stage of the vectorization pipeline. Switch between them with the layer buttons or keyboard shortcuts.
1 Original
Your unmodified source image exactly as loaded. Use this as a reference to compare against the vectorized output.
2 Preprocessed
The image after preprocessing filters have been applied — enhancement, denoise, brightness/contrast adjustments, halftone, and other effects. This is what the tracer actually sees.
3 Segmentation
A color-mapped view showing how pixels have been grouped into distinct color regions. Each flat region will become a separate shape in the final SVG.
4 Vector
The final vectorized output rendered as SVG. This is what you will export. Zoom in to inspect the smooth Bézier curves and shape boundaries.
Tip: Use split view (S) to compare any two layers side by side with shared zoom and pan.
Controls
The controls panel on the left side of the app lets you tune every aspect of the vectorization pipeline. Here is a breakdown of each control.
Primary Controls
Fidelity
The most important control. Determines how many color regions the tracer extracts. Low fidelity produces fewer, larger shapes for a stylized or posterized look. High fidelity preserves more detail for photographic accuracy.
Simplification
Merges adjacent shapes with very similar colours into a single region. Higher values merge more aggressively, reducing the total number of shapes in the output for a cleaner, simpler SVG. Uses perceptual colour distance (CIELAB delta-E) so merges look natural.
Preprocessing
Pre-scale
Resizes the image before processing, measured in megapixels (MP). Reducing the input resolution speeds up tracing and can simplify the output. The slider ranges from 0.5 MP up to the original image size, capped at 2 MP by default. For large images a toggle unlocks scaling up to 8 MP, but higher values use significantly more memory and processing time.
Enhance
Edge-aware smoothing and sharpening tools. Smoothing reduces noise while preserving hard edges, and sharpening increases local contrast to make details more distinct before segmentation.
Denoise
Symmetric nearest-neighbor (SNN) denoising that smooths out noise and grain while preserving edges. Useful for photos with sensor noise or compression artifacts.
Brightness / Contrast / Saturation
Standard image adjustments. Tweak these to help the tracer distinguish between color regions, or for creative effect.
Balance
RGB color balance adjustments. Shift the overall color temperature or correct color casts before tracing.
Tip: Look out for the icon next to controls — clicking it opens a fine-tuning dialog with additional parameters for that effect.
Palette
Unlimited
The tracer determines colors automatically based on fidelity. No constraint on the number of distinct colors.
Fixed palette
Restricts the output to a specific number of colors (e.g. 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256). The tracer generates an optimal palette using median-cut quantization.
Custom palette
Build your own palette with the visual editor. Click the color well to add swatches, sample colors directly from your image, and remove colors you don't want. The tracer maps every pixel to the nearest color in your custom palette.
Effects
Halftone
Overlays a halftone dot pattern with adjustable scale and different styles. Creates classic print and pop-art effects when combined with vectorization.
Scanline
Applies scanline overlays in horizontal, vertical, or concentric styles for retro CRT and broadcast-style effects. Line spacing, intensity, and noise amount are all adjustable.
Presets
Presets are pre-configured combinations of fidelity, palette, and preprocessing settings that produce specific visual styles. Select a preset from the dropdown at the top of the controls panel to apply it instantly, then fine-tune any individual setting.
Fidelity Levels
Five base presets for general-purpose tracing at different detail levels:
Low — minimal detail, bold flat shapes
Medium-Low — simplified with some detail
Medium — balanced (default)
Medium-High — more fine detail preserved
High — maximum detail, closest to the source
Artistic
Stylized effects with custom preprocessing and palette configurations:
Comic Book, Old Comic Book, Comic Book Memories — comic/pop-art halftone styles
Screen Print — limited 4-color screen print look
Art Poster — bold posterized poster style
Cyberpunk, The Matrix — high-contrast sci-fi color grading
Vintage
Old Photo — warm, faded tones
Grainy Old Photo — faded with noise and grain
Steampunk — warm shadows, cold highlights via desaturation and colour rebalancing
Ethereal — cold shadows, warm highlights via desaturation and colour rebalancing
Low Color (32) — strict 32-color quantization for a flat, graphic look
Tip: You can save your own custom presets. Dial in the exact settings you want, then save them for one-click recall later. Custom presets appear at the top of the preset list.
Split View
Press S to toggle split view. The canvas divides into two synchronized panes with a draggable divider:
Left pane — shows the Original or Preprocessed layer
Right pane — shows the Segmentation or Vector layer
Both panes share the same zoom level and pan position, so you can inspect exactly the same area across different pipeline stages. Use the layer buttons in the bottom right control panel to switch which layer is displayed on each side, or alternatively use the keyboard shortcuts 1–4.
Tip: Split view is especially useful for comparing the original image against the final vector output at high zoom to evaluate fine detail and color accuracy.
Detail Mode
Press D to enter detail mode. This lets you selectively increase or decrease fidelity in specific areas of the image by painting with a brush. Painting multiplies the seed density of the selected fidelity level, so the effect scales with your current settings.
How it works
Left-click and drag — increase fidelity (add more detail) where you paint
Alt + click and drag — decrease fidelity (simplify) where you paint
[ / ] — decrease / increase brush size
The detail toolbar at the top of the canvas shows the current brush size and provides controls to toggle the density overlay, reset all detail painting, and finish (Done).
Tip: Use detail mode to add fidelity to faces or important features while keeping large background areas simplified for a smaller, cleaner SVG file.