How to Create a Contour Cut Line in Silhouette Studio by Tracing (and Convert JPEG or PNG to SVG)

The Silhouette Studio trace tool is one of the best features of the software and definitely a step above the tracing tools in even some of the more "elite" (and expensive) graphic design software programs.  

You can use Silhouette Studio to create contour cut lines around images quickly and easily.  This is also how you can vectorize JPEG and PNG files before exporting as SVG from Silhouette Studio. 

Learning to trace to create cut lines in Silhouette Studio is hugely important because it is a fundamental skill that is necessary for other design functions including adding a bleed, an offset, a border and vectorizing or converting PNG and JPEG.  It's also hugely helpful for creating cut lines that other programs - including Adobe Illustrator and Affinity Designer - can also recognize. If you have added a Roland BN-20 print and cut machine, for example, creating the contour cut lines in Silhouette Studio is a breeze.

I have designed this Silhouette Studio beginner tracing tutorial as just the first in a five part series on creating contour cut lines in Silhouette Studio. Each part builds on the previous tutorials in the series so I highly suggest you go through them in order.  

Even if you don't have a Silhouette cutting machine or aren't using it for your current job, the trace tool is extremely helpful. It's one of the many reason why I suggest that even if you don't have a Silhouette cutting machine, you consider using Silhouette Studio! 

Creating Contour Cut Lines in Silhouette Studio: Five Part Series 

1. How to Create a Contour Cut Line in Silhouette Studio by Tracing 
2. How to Create a White Border Around a Design or Text in Silhouette Studio 
3. How to Create a Bleed in Silhouette Studio to Avoid White Edges When Printing and Cutting
4. How to Use Silhouette Studio Cut Lines to Add Roland VersaWorks Contour Cut Lines in Illustrator
5. How to Add Roland VersaWorks Contour Cut Lines: Affinity Designer and Silhouette Studio

How to Cut Fabric with Silhouette CAMEO 4 AutoBlade

If you don't have a Silhouette CAMEO 4 Rotary Blade, you can use a Silhouette Autoblade to cut fabric. 

It does require more preparation to cut fabric with an auto blade, since you need to stabilize it, but it is possible in a pinch. This tutorial will walk you through how to cut fabric with a Silhouette CAMEO 4 Autoblade. 

Roland BN-20 Software: Why Silhouette Studio and Affinity Designer Are the Best (And Cheapest)

If you're considering investing in a Roland BN-20A you're probably also thinking about what the best graphic design software is to use with the 20" Ecosolvent Print and Cut machine.

The Roland BN-20 and BN-20A come with Roland VersaWorks software, but the free Roland software lacks in its ability to easily create contour cut lines.  Therefore another software program is used to prep art.  

There are three or four main options to create contour lines for the Roland BN-20A ... and here we'll explore why Silhouette Studio and Affinity Designer are the best...even if you don't have a Silhouette machine (and especially if you do!) 

Free Silhouette Design: Life is Better at the Beach (Commercial Use Available)

It's my favorite day of the week here at Silhouette School: Freebie Friday!

I don't know about you, but isn't life just better at the beach? 

3 Reasons Fonts Aren't In Silhouette Studio Font List

It's not uncommon to download and install a font, and yet still not be able to find it in your Silhouette Studio Text Style list - where all fonts are listed.

There are a few reasons why a font would not appear in your Silhouette font list. This Silhouette tutorial will focus on the three big reasons why...and how to troubleshoot when fonts aren't appearing in Silhouette Studio.

How to Create a Full Bleed Contour Cut Line in Silhouette Studio

If you are printing and cutting - either with a Silhouette machine or another cutter - it's easy to create a full color bleed area in Silhouette Studio. 

This post is part 3 of my Five Part series on Creating and Working with Contour Cut Lines in Silhouette Studio. If you haven't already followed Part 1 on creating cut lines around your JPEG or PNG by tracing you'll want to do that first.  

If you'd rather have a white border around your entire design, instead of a bleed area, check out Part 2 in this series. And if you are here to create a bleed and contour cut lines for Roland VersaWorks keep reading! 

How to Create a Contour Cut with White Edge in Silhouette Studio

There are many reasons you may want to put a solid white edge around a design in Silhouette Studio. 

A white border on stickers gives a clean, polished, and professional look.  Adding a white edge around your design in Silhouette Studio is fast and easy using the offset tool.  

This post is part 2 of my Five Part Series on Creating and Working with Contour Cut Lines in Silhouette Studio. If you haven't followed Part 1: How to Create Cut Lines around your JPEG or PNG by Tracing you'll want to do that before you go any further.  

If you'd rather NOT have a white edge on you design, but would instead like to create a full color bleed, check out Part 3 of this series. 

How to Faux Stain Wood with Sublimation

You can give wood a stained look without staining at all.  The trick is sublimation. Yes! You can sublimate on wood. 

It's not only easy to do it's far faster and less messy than actual stain. 

How to Add Roland BN-20 Cut Lines in Illustrator for VersaWorks

If you're new to Roland BN-20 or BN-20A one of the most intimidating parts can be add cut lines for VersaWorks - especially to PNG and JPEG images. 

Fortunately it's not only easy to vectorize a JPEG or PNG to SVG in Silhouette Studio, but it's easy to do the very last step in Adobe Illustrator. 

This tutorial is part of a five part series on using Silhouette Studio to create contour cut lines including bleed lines and white borders that are recognized by other software programs including Illustrator. If you haven't started from the beginning of the series, I would highly suggest you do that to learn: 

1. How to Create a Contour Cut Line in Silhouette Studio by Tracing (Convert JPEG or PNG to SVG)
2. How to Create a Contour Cut Line with White Border in Silhouette Studio
3. How to Create a Full Color Bleed to Avoid White Edges when Printing and Cutting

This tutorial assumes you have a firm understanding of the three critical steps before advancing...and that you have Silhouette Studio Business Edition along with Adobe Illustrator. 

How to Create a Roland BN-20 Contour Cut Line Using Silhouette Studio and Affinity Designer

If you're new to Roland BN-20 or BN-20A one of the most intimidating parts can be creating contour cut lines. Fortunately it's easy to add a VersaWorks contour cut lines in Affinity Designer using a cut line and SVG created in Silhouette Studio. 

In fact pairing Affinity Designer and Silhouette Studio is my favorite and most recommended way to quickly and easily add Roland VersaWorks contour cut lines and perf cut lines so you can get on with printing and cutting.

This tutorial is part of a five part series on using Silhouette Studio to create contour cut lines including bleed lines and white borders. If you haven't started from the beginning of the series, I would highly suggest you do that to learn: 

1. How to Create a Contour Cut Line in Silhouette Studio by Tracing (Convert JPEG or PNG to SVG)
2. How to Create a Contour Cut Line with White Border in Silhouette Studio
3. How to Create a Full Color Bleed to Avoid White Edges when Printing and Cutting

This tutorial assumes you have a firm understanding of the three critical steps before advancing...and that you have Silhouette Studio Business Edition and Affinity Designer. 

Silhouette Studio for Sublimation: Free Software for Epson and Sawgrass

Silhouette Studio can be used for Sublimation printing for not only designing, but also print layout. 

You don't even need a Silhouette cutting machine to use Silhouette Studio for Sublimation! Just download Silhouette Studio free. 

This tutorial will explain how to use Silhouette Studio for sublimation.