Creating a Single Line SVG File in the Adobe Illustrator App Using Vectorize

Hi Everyone!

This week I wanted to share another method you can use to create your single line SVG file in the Illustrator App using the Vectorize tool.

One great thing about the Illustrator App is they continue to improve it. I’m not sure when they came out with the vectorize tool, but I stumbled upon it when I was tracing my sketch manually with the pencil tool.

Initially, I tried it out with my rough sketch, and the results weren’t great.

I went back into Procreate and I traced over my rough sketch with Studio Pen brush at 5% for a more refined drawing. The thinner you draw your lines here in Procreate, the better single line file you will get in Illustrator.

I saved my file as a PNG. At this point, it looks like it would make a good draw file in Cricut Design Space, but that is definitely not the case, you will get the dreaded double lines.

So we will need to do some additional steps in Illustrator to get a proper Draw file. I’m going to import my PNG file into the Illustrator app.

With my image selected, in the tool bar on the right side, I’m going to click on Object and in the dialog box I will select Vectorize.

This works a lot like Image Trace in the desktop version of Illustrator. I’m going to make sure I have my color mode set to Black and White and my Output set to Strokes. You can play around with the sliders a little bit to help refine your drawing.

Once you get it to where you like it, you can click Expand Vectorization and now you will have a drawing composed of single line strokes.

One last thing I’m going to do is make all of my strokes 1pt in width.

Now I can go through and refine my drawing even more with the direct selection tool and add any parts that may be missing with the pen or pencil tool. Once I’m satisfied with the way it is, I can save this as an SVG and import it into the Cricut Design Space App.

Creating Your Own Single Line SVG File - Part Three

Hi Everyone!

This week I’m going to test the single line SVG file that I created in the Illustrator app last week. I’m going to do this all on my iPad, so I’m going to test it with the Cricut app.

First, I’m going to open the Cricut app and start a new project. Then, down at the bottom of the screen, I’m going to select UPLOAD and BROWSE FILES.

In last week’s tutorial, I saved my design on my iPad as an SVG file. Now. I need to locate that file on my iPad. I saved mine in my Illustrator folder.

Inside the Illustrator folder I select my Capricorn file.

Cricut Design Space will show a preview of the file. It will default to a CUT image. I can’t change it to a DRAW file until it’s uploaded into Design Space. So now, I can name my file and click save in the upper right corner.

After I click save, Design Space will bring up all my uploaded images. I select my Capricorn file and click INSERT down in the bottom right corner.

Now, my file is on my canvas. I’m going to scale it down a little bit, so it fits on the piece of cardstock I will be using to do my test drawing. I’m also going to change this to a DRAW file. Down in the bottom tool bar, select EDIT, then where it says BASIC CUT on the bottom left, select that and change it to DRAW/ Pen.

Here I can change the pen type and color. I’m using my Fine Point Black pen. I’m going to change the color just for visibility purposes in Design Space. My machine cannot determine the actual pen color I’m using, so I can select whatever color I want.

Even though all of my lines are already grouped together, I still need to ATTACH them. Otherwise Design Space will spread them out all weird on the mat when I select Make It. Down in the bottom tool bar I select ACTIONS then I select ATTACH. Now I’m ready to SAVE my file and then select Make It.

I’m going to position my design relative to where I have my piece of cardstock on my actual mat.

Click NEXT and then select my Maker machine.

I’m using a scarp piece of cardstock, so I select Heavy Cardstock as my material. and I load my Black fine point pen and my mat into my machine, and Press GO!!

After my machine is done drawing, I check my design to see if skipped any of my lines. If any parts of your design are missing, try re-uploading your SVG file into Design Space.

It looks like all of my lines are there, now I’m going to try out my design with my WRMK foil quill. I can use my Foil Quill with my iPad because my machine treats it like a pen. I cannot use my Cricut Foil Transfer tool with my iPad, I don’t know why Cricut hasn’t figured that one out yet.

But here it is with silver foil on black cardstock! Now that I’ve tested my file and it works, I can use it for whatever projects I want.

Creating Your Own Single Line SVG Files - Part Two

Hi Everyone!

This week is part two of how to create your own single line SVG files. I’m going to share with you how I take my sketch from Procreate and use the Adobe Illustrator app on my iPad Pro to create the SVG file.

Last week exported my file from Procreate as a JPEG. I’m going to bring that file into the Illustrator app by selecting the picture icon in the tool bar on the left and finding that file on my iPad.

You can adjust the size of the image, I typically keep my pretty large at this point. I’m going to add a new layer above my sketch layer, then I’m going to lock my sketch layer.

I typically start with a basic out line of my image and then fill in all the little details on a separate layer. You need to use either the pencil tool or the pen tool to create a single line SVG. This is so your image is made up of individual paths and not filled shapes. I’m going to use the pencil tool since it feels most natural when I’m tracing my image using my Apple Pencil.

I’m going to start tracing the outline of the horns with my pencil. If you need to stop and lift up your pencil, you can continue that same line again by selecting the path and start drawing at one of the end points.

Now, you can choose the draw the rest of the outline or start refining each section as you go along. I’m going to refine each section as I go along. Using the Direct selection tool, I can delete anchor points, change curved points to sharp angles and vice versa.

After the outline is complete, I will create a new layer for the details.

I do the details by sections in the drawing. As you can see, I simplified the scales on the fish tale from my original drawing. Now is great time to make any adjustments to your drawing. Once I finish the details, I make each section a subgroup in my layer.

Now it’s time to export this file as SVG. Click on the box with the arrow in the upper right tool bar across the top in the app. Select “Publish and export.”

On the left side of the screen, select “Export as.”

In the drop down next to Format, select SVG and click the blue Export button.

I’m going to select “Save to Files.”

Then I select the “Illustrator” folder. Next week I will show you how to test this file using the Cricut App on my iPad.

Creating Your Own Single Line SVG Files - Part One

Hi Everyone!

One of my goals this year is to create more SVG files to add here and my Etsy shop. There are a lot of SVG cut files available out there, but not as many single line or draw files. I thought I would share my process for how I create my single line SVG files.

I start off by trying to come up with an idea for a collection of files, this year I want to do all of the zodiac symbols. Since we’re still in January, I’m going to start off with Capricorn, which is often depicted as a sea goat.

I love using Pinterest to gather inspiration and I created a board where I’m collecting images of all the different zodiac symbols. I’ll keep adding to this board as I work my way through all the zodiac signs.

After I’ve gathered a few images I go through them and I start to pick out what parts I like from each image.

I really like how the fish tails loop around on these.

I think I want a profile view for the head.

Next, I’m going to start creating a rough sketch on my iPad Pro in one of my favorite apps, Procreate. If you don’t have an iPad, you can also do your sketch the good old fashioned way with pencil and paper.

I would like for these to fit on a round shape like a key ring or coaster, so I’m going to start out. with a circle shape and keep my design within that shape.

I like to sketch with the Peppermint Pencil, it’s one of the brushes that comes with Procreate. It’s almost like sketching with a real pencil!

Another great thing about Procreate is you can have your reference image in a separate little window inside Procreate.

Or you can do a split screen with Procreate and Pinterest.

I’m going to work with my reference image in a window in Procreate. So I take some screenshots of my Pinterest images that I will be referencing.

After I work out my sketch, I can either take a screenshot, save it as a JPEG or PNG file to bring into the Illustrator app.

If you made your sketch on regular paper, you will need to scan you image so you can bring it into Illustrator or another vector program of your choice.

Next week I will share with you how I turn my sketch into vector line art in the Illustrator App on my iPad.

Planner Stickers with the WRMK Foil Quill

Happy New Year!

The new year is always a great time to make a fresh start with a new planner. I bought a planner notebook last year, but I didn’t realize it only had pages for 6 months and a bunch of blank pages at the end. After I filled up the 6 months , I kind of stopped using it. So this year, I’m going to make my own calendar/ planner pages and hopefully keep myself on track for this year!

Supplies: (links below may be affiliate links)

My Single line SVG files or another file you may have

Clear Sticker Paper

WRMK Fine Tip Foil Quill (the pink one)

WRMK Gold foil or heat reactive foil of your choice

Silhouette Portrait 3

Light Grip cutting mat

Autoblade

I created some single line SVG files for the months, days and dates. I’m going to test them out with my WRMK Foil Quill and some clear matte sticker paper.

I bought this clear matte sticker paper on Amazon. Unfortunately, when I received it I realized it has a slit down the back carrier paper which is not disclosed in the product description. I should have read more of the reviews! It’s not a problem for this project since I’m trimming the paper down to foil it.

I’m trimming my sticker paper down to 5.5 inches x 4.25 inches. You don’t have to do this, but I have an easier time foiling with smaller pieces.

I have all of my months set up to fit on one 5.5 inch x 4.25 sheet in Silhouette Studio and now it’s time to foil!

I’m using the fine tip foil quill (the pink one) with the D adapter, since my letters and numbers get pretty small.

I’ve got my sticker paper on my light grip mat approximately where it is shown in Silhouette studio and my foil is taped down tightly on all four sides.

After some initial testing with this sticker paper I created a custom material setting:

Action: Sketch

Force: 2

Speed: 2

Passes: 1

After it’s done foiling, do not remove your mat from the machine! Carefully remove the foil and place the Autoblade in carriage 1.

I want my stickers to be kiss cut, so the blade will not cut through the backing paper on the stickers. I added the following settings to my custom material:

Action: Cut

Force: 25

Speed: 4

Passes: 1

I repeat the same process for the days of the week and the dates.

Now my stickers are ready to be added to my calendar template!

Silhouette Portrait 3 Matless Drawing

Hi Everyone! For little side income I sell my SVG files in my Etsy shop. But before I list my files for sale, I test them on on my Silhouette Portrait 3 machine and my Cricut Maker. I typically start my testing with my Portrait 3 because I can actually edit and save my file as an SVG from Silhouette Studio (I have the Business Edition).

This week I’m working on some single line skull designs that can be used to draw, foil, engrave, or anything else that needs a single line file. I originally drew my artwork in Adobe Illustrator, then I uploaded it as an SVG into Silhouette Studio.

To test my file, I’m going to use what is quickly becoming one of my favorite features, matless drawing. Yes, not only can you cut matless with the silhouette machines, you can also draw matless. This wasn't even a selling feature for me and my Portrait 3 machine, but I’m loving it!

When I first open my illustration in Silhouette Studio, it shows up placed on the cutting mat.

To change to matless, click on the white sheet of paper at the top to the tool bar on the right. Under cutting mat, select “None”. My cardstock size is 8.5 x11 inches, so I will leave that as is. Keep in mind that the usable area of the cardstock becomes a little smaller with the matless feature. I need to keep all of my artwork within the red bounding box.

Disregard the two different colors in my drawing. For now, I’m going to test it with only a black pen.

In the upper right corner, I click “Send”. There’s no need to attach all of my elements and my drawing stays centered on the canvas (no shifting to the upper left corner like my Cricut machine).

In the send screen I’m going to stay with “Simple” since I’m only doing a single color drawing. Notice, now all of my lines are red. The cardstock I’m using is 100lb, so for my material I select “Coverstock, Heavy.” For my action I select “Sketch.” For my tool I select “Pen.”

I load my piece cardstock into my machine without a mat, yay!! Then I load the Silhouette pen adapter with a Sharpie Pen.

I press send and my machine starts drawing away!

After a few minutes it’s done, and there’s no stickiness left on the back of my cardstock from the mat!

Making Single Line Words to Use with Your Cricut or Silhouette Machine

Hi Everyone! A lot of you who use your Cricut or Silhouette machine to write, foil, engrave, deboss, etc. know the frustration of trying to find single line fonts. While single line fonts do exist if you search for them, they aren’t always free and can add up pretty quickly. Also, it may be struggle to find one that you actually like.

I do not pay for a Cricut Access membership and I am not going to pay $5 for a font I can only use in Cricut Design Space, sorry!!

I do, however, have an Adobe Creative Cloud membership at that includes tons of free fonts to use, plus I have lots of fonts from Design Cuts and Creative Market.

I know I can use my system fonts in Design Space, but if I want to use it as a writing font, it outlines my letters. Not the look I’m going for. Not to mention, the terrible letter spacing that is default for Design Space.

My system font in Design Space - it outlines the letter if I change the lintetype to Draw, and the letter spacing is horrible.

Now I’m going to show you, how to use the font that I already have and make it into a single line word that I can upload into Design Space or Studio and use as a draw file.

You will need Adobe Illustrator, either the app or desktop version. I’m going to be using the app on my iPad with the Apple Pencil for this tutorial.

First, I’m going to create a new file in my Illustrator app. Then I’m going to select the text tool.

I’m going to keep it pretty simple and type “thank you.” To change the font, I need to have my words selected and click on the “Properties” button on the right side tool bar. The font I’m using is called Santa Fe Spring (it is not part of the Adobe fonts, but I added it to my Creative cloud so I could use it on my iPad).

I’m typed my words as two separate objects so I can adjust their placements.

Then, with both words selected, I’m going to lower the opacity of this layer to about 20 percent.

I’m going to lock the layer with my words and create new layer above it, this is the layer I will be drawing on.

I select the PENCIL tool from the left side tool bar. I’m using the pencil tool because this is a very loose hand-written type font. If you would like more control, you can also use the pen tool. Just DO NOT use the blob brush, we want single line strokes, no fills.

I set my fill to “nothing” and my stoke to black. You can pick whatever color you like as long as it is visible against the typed words.

I’m going to start tracing over my typed letters with the pencil tool. I sometimes need to stop and pick up my pencil, that’s okay! If you want your line to continue once you start drawing again make sure to start on the square anchor point where you stopped.

If your lines look a little wonky, it’s ok, we’ll go back at the end and refine everything.

Once I get my letters completed, I turn off the layer with the typed text. My letters definitely need some refining!

With the Direct Selection tool I can go in and delete anchor points that I don’t need and adjust my curves with the little handles as needed.

Once I get my letters to my liking, I make each word a Compound Path.

Now it’s time to export! I select the little box with an arrow in the upper right corner and select “Publish and Export.”

I select SVG and click “Export.”

I save it to my Illustrator files on my iPad.

Now I’m going to test my file on my Cricut Maker. I open the Cricut app on my iPad and start a new project. I click the upload icon at the bottom of the screen and select “browse files.”

I select the Illustrator folder and find the file I just created.

I get this error message because I forgot to delete the layer that I actually typed the text on, it’s fine. Just press OK.

Name the image if you want and press save.

Now I select the image that I just uploaded and press Insert.

Now the image is on my canvas, I’m going to select “Edit” in the tool bar along the bottom to change my linetype to “Draw” instead of “Cut.”

I’m going to test it first with a fine point black pen. So that is what I select from the draw menu.

I’m going to scale my letters up a bit and then test on my machine.

Here is my first test with the black fine point pen.

Here is my second test with my metallic gold marker. It looks like my marker is drying out a bit, but it gives kind of a cool brush stroke effect.

I tried out my debossing tip for the first time, I need to play around with the settings to see if I can make it deeper, but it could be a pretty cool effect for a thank you card.

Cricut Design Space vs Silhouette Studio - Filled Letters

The offset feature in Cricut Design Space finally offers a way to fill in letters directly in Design Space. Although, this is far from my favorite method for filling in letters, it’s another useful technique to have in your arsenal.

Cricut Design Space - Filled Letters using Offset method

This took a bit of trial and error to get an end result I was satisfied with, nothing is ever as simple as it seems with Cricut Design Space, LOL!

I typed the word “love” first. I’m using one of my system fonts - Very Berry. Of course the letter spacing (kerning) is absurd, so I have to adjust that first.

Then in order to get the offset to behave how I want, I need to “flatten” my text layer so it becomes a “Print then Cut” layer.

Then, with my flattened layer selected, I click on the offset button in the top tool bar. I type in -0.014 inches, that’s basically equivalent to a 1pt offset in Illustrator, which is how close I like to keep my lines if I’m going for a solid filled text. Note: You have to type -0.014 in the box, it’s such a small measurement you cannot use the slider.

Next, so I can actually see my offset lines, I change my offset layer to a “Draw” operation and change the line color to something bright and contrasting against the flattened black layer.

I select the offset layer I just created and then click the offset button again. It’s already set to the -0.014 inches, so I click apply. I change my line color again so I can see it against the flattened black layer.

I keep repeating the same offset until I get my letters filled as much as I can.

Once it’s all filled in with the offset lines, I select my original Flattened layer and “Unflatten” it. Then I “weld” the letters together.

Note: You CANNOT weld the letters together at the very beginning, the inner loops of the letters will not be offset properly.

I also tried the process with an SVG file that I imported from Illustrator. I prefer creating my words in Illustrator first, it’s much easier to adjust the kerning and use any special glyphs.

I upload my SVG as usual and change my Linetype from “Basic Cut” a “Draw” linetype.

Then I applied the -0.014 inch offset to the offset over and over again until my word was filled as much as possible.

After I show you the Silhouette Studio method we will test all the different fills on my Cricut Maker Machine.

Silhouette Studio - Filled Letters

Silhouette Studio has an awesome Line Effects tool that you can use to fill words.

I open my same SVG file that I created in Illustrator and click on the Line Effects tool on the right tool bar.

I’m going to copy and paste my word so I can use one to draw an outline completely around the word, I think that gives it a cleaner look.

There are a few different line types you can use for fills. The first one I’m going to pick is the just the straight lines. It’s simple and it’s one of my favorites.

It starts off looking horizontal and pretty spaced out.

I type my 0.014 inches in the spacing box and -45 degrees in the angle to get the close diagonal lines I’m going for.

I use the Align tool in the toolbar across the top to line up my fill lines with the outline.

Next, I duplicate both layers and then I pick the crosshatch fill. I’m going to keep my spacing at 0.014 inches and a -45 degree angle.

I duplicate my words again and I pick the concentric circles, this gives the same look as the offset in Cricut Design Space. I keep my spacing at 0.014 inches.

The last one I’m going to try is the spiral. It already has an outline so I can delete one of my layers. I keep my spacing at 0.014 inches and my angle at -45 degrees.

Since I have the Business editon of Silhouette Studio, I can save my file as an SVG so I can import it into Cricut Design Space.

I’m open my SVG in Cricut Design Space. I need to change the linetype to “Draw.” For some reason my SVG is twice the size it was in Silhouette Studio, so I’m going to scale it back down to size.

Here’s a comparison of the offset from Design Space and the Concentric circle fill in Silhouette Studio.

Time to test the different fills! I’m going to use my We R Memory Keepers foil quill, medium tip on cardstock with my Cricut Maker.

Here are the different results, my favorite is still the diagonal line fill at 45 degrees. The crosshatch and spirals both have some interesting textures. The offset is still not my favorite, the lines start to create weird little areas at some of the intersections.

Which fill style is your favorite?