Make a stencil from a photo

This free tool turns a photo into a black-and-white outline you can use for a stencil. Black areas are the parts you cut away and white areas stay in place. You get an SVG for cutting machines such as Cricut and Silhouette, and a DXF of the same outline for laser cutters and CNC software. It runs in your browser, with no account and no software to install.

How it works

  1. Pick a photo with a clear subject and strong contrast, and drag it in.
  2. Move the threshold until the preview looks like the stencil you want. Black is what gets cut.
  3. Use edge smoothness and the speck filter to clean up rough edges and tiny dots you do not want to cut.
  4. Download the SVG or DXF, then add bridges in your cutting software.

What makes a good stencil photo

A stencil has no shading: every part is either cut away or left in place. Silhouettes, bold logos, portraits with deep shadows and simple animals work well. Busy backgrounds, soft focus and low light do not, because there is no clean line between what is cut and what is left. If your photo is cluttered, crop to the subject first.

Bridges: keep the middles from falling out

A stencil is one sheet, so any piece completely surrounded by a cut, like the center of an O, A or B, would fall out. A bridge is a small strip you leave uncut to hold that piece in place. Our guide on how to make a stencil from a photo shows how to add them, and best stencil materials covers what to cut it from.

Need a bigger stencil?

For a design larger than one sheet, Panel Mode splits it into real-size panels. You can enter the area you need to cover and your sheet size to see how many sheets it takes.

Is it free?

Yes. Uploading a photo, previewing the result, and downloading the SVG and DXF are free, with no account required.

What can I cut a stencil from?

Common choices are vinyl, mylar, freezer paper and card. See the stencil materials guide for how they compare.

Can I use a logo or a drawing instead of a photo?

Yes. Flat artwork usually traces more cleanly than a photo. Try Logo to SVG or Drawing to SVG.

Do you keep a copy of my image?

No. Uploaded images and the traced output are held on the server for up to 30 minutes to allow processing and download, then deleted — see the Privacy Policy for details.