The Complete Guide To Using Trace Bitmap in Inkscape

One of Inkscape's many handy uses is having the ability to auto generate vector tracings of any raster image you'd like. In this tutorial we'll be going over how to use Trace Bitmap in Inkscape so you can create quick and simple vector tracings of photos. This can be really use for making silhouettes, vector textures, and colorful cartoon-like renderings from your photographs.
Want to learn more about how Inkscape works? Check out the Inkscape Master Class - a comprehensive series of over 50 videos where I go over every tool, feature and function in Inkscape and explain what it is, how it works, and why it's useful: logosbynick.com/inkscape/
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:15 Pros and Cons
01:10 Open Trace Bitmap
01:26 Single Scan vs Multiple Scans
01:57 Creating Monotone Tracings
05:19 Creating Color Tracings
07:56 Options Settings
09:41 Conclusion
Intro song: "In Da Mood" by Combustibles, used with written permission

[@fmphotooffice5513]

Crucial step: Prepare or optimize the bitmap in bitmap software first where you have much better control, before doing vector versions. Posterize filter, or exaggerate contrast, curves and levels carefully in Photoshop or Photopea with the vector versions you want in mind.

[@makexroomvideogames7788]

I just worked through a simple project last night where I needed this video. Damn, Nick, what timing.

[@yemarican]

super awesome tutorial. I have been using inskape for a few years now and I love how sharp it makes the vector images. I use this feature to screen print super clear and sharp artwork on shirts and wood. it is priceless. thanks again.

[@aldernero3376]

I use Trace Bitmap quite a bit to convert photos into something I can plot with my AxiDraw pen plotter. I wasn't always sure what some of these options did. Thanks for the thorough and clear explanation!

[@m1hal329]

Best Guides EVER.

[@TheCocoaDaddy]

Thanks for posting this! I've used the trace bitmap function once or twice but really want to learn more about how it works and more importantly, how to use it properly. Thanks!

[@TightEWhitey]

I love your tutorials! I have to play them in half speed but I appreciate how informative and concise they are

[@MG-gb1hc]

😄Half speed. Now I'm going to do the same.

[@chu9259]

I’ve been struggling to figure this out and this video helped so much, you’re a lifesaver man thank you

[@craftycorgis9]

Thanks for all you do to help us all!

[@aiyahuntacheimumbi236]

This is exactly what I need to save time converting my Magna Doodle drawings into 2D Game Sprites! Thank you and the Devs!!

[@puregeek4895]

I'm looking at this at 2:30 am from India. No regrets😎🙌🏻

[@shiroyasha1136]

sleep early and wake up early is the key to learn anything

[@traceface7001]

easily the clearest vid i've found on this process. thanks a million for the help!

[@juanvelezlopez]

How on earth are EVERY SINGLE ONE of your videos so good?

[@AtlasGaming50]

Your videos are VERY helpful. Thank you for taking the time to make them.

[@jeneeyasuwal]

A new video Yay!!! I have learned a lot from your Inkscape tutorial videos. Thank you.

[@Skinny_Buddha13]

I see why you have the most subs of people doing tutorials. Hands down the best

[@upstartbyead3236]

Thank you a lot Nick!

[@onederfulgames6604]

Really useful. I appreciate you breaking down each of the options and what they do. Looking forward to episode on pixel art next!

[@TechieSewing]

I always feel that Trace Bitmap is more art than science so avoided it for a long time. But I played with it recently and found 0.75 Brightness cutoff is really good for b/w line drawings used in sewing so I can process these really quickly now.

[@HIM-HUMAN]

How can I ever thank this guy

[@my1little2pony]

This guy do be fueling the laser engraver community.

[@valjauful]

thank you for this tutorial!

[@tanalee229]

I still don't care what you talk about. I just come to listen to your voice and the music. : ) Sort of just kidding. I love your voice and the music, but the info you give is always so helpful. Thank you for videos that keep on giving. (May 2023)

[@garystanullwich5574]

This video explains quite a bit. Thanks.

[@DougsterCanada1]

Thanks kindly for this.

[@thirdgear75]

awesome! thanks!!

[@GerBargerbos]

Thanks for this!!

[@mrxblocks8580]

Thank you this help a lot man

[@enlacesonline]

Thank you, thank you!

[@DrivableDesigns]

I have to try this! 😁

[@Ema-ic1zl]

Ouuu yeah! Greetings from Argentina

[@alielhajj79]

thank you kindly!

[@epipe4]

Awesome!!

[@lazj6987]

Good video. A lot of info

[@noelj62]

Awesome !

[@francootaola9172]

Hey nick, from my understanding there are new options for tracing bitmaps would be a great opportunity for a new video in this subject

[@amcds2867]

Thank you.

[@george4061]

Thanks mate 🙏

[@Bianchi77]

Nice video, thanks :)

[@elinahafuka4998]

I found this feature great to combine with "simplify path " for creating some cartoon type characters! Just grab some photo of some interesting person and make simple cartoonized character!

[@amylouisebrutonl9051]

Incredible

[@kklol07]

THANKS!

[@DrunkenLeaf]

God was hoping for one on the 24, would have released on my birthday lol

[@shanelatondress9259]

Thumbs up!

[@cacevedo07]

Great tutorial. A quick question: what is the difference between "open" vs. "import", and "save" vs. "export" a document? Many thanks!

[@frozenflame7987]

When you said you had a powerful computer, Idk why but I felt good and happy even though I don't have it.

[@Drax658]

I'm using trace bitmat to get vector graphic of a simple graphic (like logo from game so I can scale it up to fit my desktop as wallpaper) and using autotrace (I think it's a new feature?) works very well.

[@Zynn16]

The trace bitmap feature is not working. When I import my image and go to the Trace...Bitmap...and when the window opens and I hit the Live Preview nothing shows up in the box and no layer is created. What do I do?

[@meganmoon6197]

So many videos bookmarked!!

[@Cubannerd]

Ok that's pretty good. I was looking for an auto tracing alternative to adobe. 👍🏻

[@hannes8216]

i like your music! :)

[@shiroyasha1136]

Mr Nick an update to the inkscape pattern video would be great, thank you

[@lukesmith8438]

Hi Nick, This is super helpful. I am looking to create simple outlined images in black. Is there a simple way to maintain black borders around an image and eliminate the color within the image using trace bitmap? The end result I am after would look like a coloring book picture of the image. Does that make sense? Thanks! Jane

[@Diyaataha]

Imagine the world without your content

[@bennnhold]

better not

[@thiagoabreuon]

Probably my channel will never exist if so LOL

[@baslielalene4702]

Thanks.

[@NigraXXL]

This might seem redundant, but you can use single trace for all sorts of monochromatic pictures, not necessarily black and white only. Worth noting in case anyone thought they might need to remove the saturation in a single-color photo so it was black and white before trying to trace.

[@Ahmt77]

Hello Thanks for this great video, I have a question. Can I use this technique for laser engraving? I'm trying to convert photos into vectors like this that can be engraved on a leather surface, but I'm not sure if that will work or not

[@JustinTunley]

Never thought I'd miss CorelDraw!

[@dutch1800]

When I do color tracing I try to reduce the colors in the original file for better results

[@LogosByNick]

Likewise. I also like to adjust the color curves in GIMP

[@dutch1800]

@@LogosByNick I'm sure you already knew that, might be something to add to a follow up video

[@gfdggdfgdgf]

I'm using an older version of inkscape for this because it has live preview for bitmap tracing, the current version doesn't have live preview.

[@geoffphil]

Another good video thanks Nick. I find that "Trace bitmap" virtually never gives satisfactory results unless a stylised/approximate "image" is required. Its just asking too much of the software.

[@ynnebbenny]

You make this program look so easy. I watch and think to myself, 'I can do that" only to struggle along the way. I love your style and presentation. Well done. Hey when I fill a vecotr it never seems to fill fully, and leaves a white edges, unless I zoom and fill and then it works. Is this my bad doing or an Inkscape bug? Thanks again for all your help.

[@LogosByNick]

The white edges might be a stroke that has been applied to your object. Try holding Shift and clicking the little red X in the bottom left corner where the color bar is. You may also have the alpha channel turned down a bit. Check the color properties in the fill and stroke menu (control + shift + f)

[@sdunca4864]

@Logos By Nick- Love these tutorials- thank you for the approach and the information staging you do- it is appreciated from a Gen Xer who was not as techno-oriented as the common market needs... Realize these are 2 years old- and if you even see/read/respond- Would love to know if Inkscape can be used for building Wordpress Templates! My dude- if youre ever in my neck of the woods- coffee's on me! Subscribed and thank you 100% Be safe and as always- at peace!

[@Szybki1446]

I really like your guide and appreciate them. One that liked the most was the "How To Prepare Logo Files for Clients" via Illustrator. I'd like to ask you, would it be possible to make a similar guide for Inkscape?

[@victorwestmann]

+1 for this!!

[@vistapri9290]

does the bitmap tracing work only with white background? I've been trying with white text on black background without success. Any advice?

[@Kelly-yo2yk]

Great video Nick! I would love to be able to use trace bitmap but my Asus laptop doesn't give me the shadowed replacement image that I should?? Do you have any suggestions ? Thank you

[@brunogawa]

Hi Nick! Great tutorial as always! I’m having a hard time figuring out how to perform bolean operations after tracing a color bitmap. Is there a way to raster or “unify” the color layers to single vector image?

[@LogosByNick]

Boolean operations won’t work on groups. You could use clipping paths as a workaround though.

[@brunogawa]

@@LogosByNick I’ll try that! Thanks! 👍🏼

[@vinterskog]

I really don't understand Inkscape. If I press "update", it only works one time. Then any change in the trace bitmap function does not work anymore no matter what I select and how many times I press "update". Same thing for the filters, it just won't apply to my picture. Not sure what I'm doing wrong...

[@trttv7876]

What was the hotkey again for making something smaller or bigger from the middle?

[@MLFranklin]

Is there a way to isolate a color? For example, what if I just want to scan only the red part of the guitar and ignore the rest?

[@aarushsingh960]

Hi sir please you help me? I want to know that i want to print a one of the project i designed in gimp but i don't know why there's not showing cmyk profile.. so please help me 🙏

[@thewanganfiles9304]

Need some help here please, When I do this. Whenever I click update it says *select an image to trace* It also has no preview image when clicking update aswell.

[@sharminoanali6647]

So when I use regular bezier tool and using left click try to make curves, i find it difficult to make my next curve as it forces me to curve in the opposite direction. So say I make a curve towards the left hand side by drawing a line and then using left click, to make the next curve on the same side there is simply no option as it doesn't curve on the left hand side no matter what i do, moreover it suggests to curve towards the right hand side. It is super frustrating and making is impossible it to trace anything.

[@yassia1106]

Is it possible with drawings? I mean if you drew smt on a paper, took a picture of it and used it, would this technique work? Thanks!

[@goblinwisdom]

The less complex the image the better. a pumpkin sketch with lots of colours and shading could be too complex as inkscape struggles with Complex colours in finished illustrations, watercolours etc. A pumpkin that is lineart will scan easily and speed up your workflow you can then add more details and colours in inkscape

[@NicaSimon13]

If you make an update of this video, could you please include some information how to handle the resulting image? f.e. the guitar. do we group them to keep them together? is there anything like union or flatten which will help reduce the nodes? thx.

[@libbyseawright5996]

Exactly. What do you do with it afterwards? As far as I can tell, the resulting traces are not useful at all for making into cut files, being able to change the colors, etc. I can't find any tutorials on this.

[@THAILANDCANUCK]

In B&W does the white get removed automatically?

[@crudivor]

Can you share what are the specs of your pc? So i know what you mean by powerful? Thanks

[@frakulaf4176]

Damn, I was hoping you would explain one setting I never figured out the use for - SIOX... Good video though :)

[@ArmaGuyz]

What if my image is Solid white text with a transparent background that is showing to be Solid white?

[@darrenwalters9886]

What does it mean if no preview shows up?

[@AlaKernel]

is the results any better in Adobe illustrator?

[@LogosByNick]

They both produce the same results. One advantage Illustrator’s Image Trace has is that it’s a bit more stable, so it won’t crash the application as easily.

[@Athari-P]

Illustrator doesn't have to perform multiple runs of Potrace to get every color, for one thing, so it handles colors much better. Also a lot more sensible options which affect the result. That being said, the results are still terrible. Just less terrible. And sometimes AI does produce something usable.

[@sliter2566]

very interesting! thank you! I came here looking for this function but to "auto trace" better for simpler stuff, like 2D logos? As example, I wanted to parody a Harley Davdson logo, I just wanted the "shield" shape to write something else inside, but I couldn't get it auto traced easily, it ended all wobbly and imperfect, with corned rounded and stuff, so I traced it manually, there is a way I could get more perfect for more simple shapes?

[@dakshsinghphelwan]

👍

[@jojijord_Rs]

Can you pls say which GIMP version are you using...

[@jcast25]

The most current. He usually does an overview video for all the major updates. It's always a good idea to use the most current release version unless there is some plug in that you absolutely need for your work that is broken by an update

[@jojijord_Rs]

@@jcast25 What send the name of it (the current version of GIMP).

[@jcast25]

@@jojijord_Rs 2.10.22 is the current release version. gimp.org

[@adolfocortinas6755]

What's the difference with inkscape trace , and adobe illustrator trace ? I canceled my adobe illustrator .

[@ferdinandbonghanoy7195]

Setting is the key

[@custommerchofficial6688]

What are your computer specs Nick?

[@Katie-ws7xp]

Hi Chris :D

[@holyolioli]

what's your computer spec?

[@Lolake2022]

I work on inkscape on the pxl

[@curioustime2376]

Bro I am new user ,, plz tell me how to render or save final results. Plz🙏

[@gurvindersinghsaagu586]

Bro tell me how to save the BMP bitmap image in inkscape

[@LUCAfrog]

A halftone video please!

[@LogosByNick]

Hi Mychal, I have several halftone videos on this channel. Just check the search bar.

[@tarikhnameh]

what is name software?

[@Cukito4]

Remember that if the result comes out inverted, there's a checkbox available in the same Dialogue, to counteract this inversion.

[@gurvindersinghsaagu586]

How to save BMP bitmap image

[@zullo3529]

Pretty good info but that black background you are using makes things very hard to read.

[@rishitrajjain7157]

please make a tutorial on how to make pixel art in gimp .

[@tafkurbw]

How long will we wait for the new video?

[@dragonlord0666]

was hoping you were going to trace the image in the thumbnail