Best Practices

Scenario-Based Workflows

Learn the optimal workflow for common vectorization scenarios. Each includes preset recommendations, settings, and post-processing tips.

Scenario 1: Company Logo Vectorization

Goal: Convert a client’s low-res logo to crisp, editable vector

Starting Point

Typical situation:

Client sent logo as JPEG from their website
Visible compression artifacts
Low resolution (500px wide)
Need vector for print and web

Recommended Workflow

Prepare the Image

Before converting:

Remove background (if present)
- Use Figma’s background removal
- Or remove.bg service
- Clean background = cleaner vectorization
Check resolution
- If under 300px wide, ask client for larger version
- Tiny logos produce poor results
- Ideal: 800-2000px wide
Crop tightly
- Remove excessive white space
- Frame just the logo itself
- Faster processing + better results

Choose Settings

Recommended configuration:

Preset: Logo
Quality: Standard (increase to High if edges look rough in preview)
Detail: 25-30 (aggressive noise removal for JPG artifacts)
Colors: 16 or fewer (logos rarely need more)
Draw Style: Fill Shapes
Fill Gaps: Enabled

Why Detail 25-30: Removes JPG compression noise while keeping logo clean

Preview First

Always use HD Preview (2 credits) for logos:

Check edge smoothness (zoom to 400%)
Verify colors are correct
Look for unwanted artifacts
If issues, adjust Detail or Quality

Common adjustments:

Edges rough? → Increase Quality to High
Too many dots? → Decrease Detail to 20
Colors wrong? → Reduce Colors to 8 or add Custom Palette

Convert

Once preview looks good, click Convert to SVG (10 credits).SVG appears next to original image.

Post-Processing in Figma

Clean up the result:

Flatten overlapping shapes
- Select SVG → Right-click → Flatten (Cmd/Ctrl + E)
- Merges layers for easier editing
Simplify if needed
- Right-click → Simplify
- Reduces anchor points
- Smaller file size
Adjust colors to brand
- Double-click SVG to enter group
- Select shapes and apply brand colors
- Or use Find & Replace color plugins
Create component
- Cmd/Ctrl + Alt + K to make component
- Add to library for reuse
- Create dark/light variants if needed

Logo-Specific Tips

For very simple logos (1-3 colors)

Ultra-minimal workflow:

Reduce Colors to 4 or 8
Decrease Detail to 15-20
Results in very clean, simple vector
Smallest possible file size
Easy to edit

Perfect for: Wordmarks, simple icons, geometric logos

For logos with gradients

Challenge: Logos with gradients are trickyOption 1 - Preserve gradient:

Use Illustration preset (not Logo)
Increase Colors to 64 or 256
Detail around 50
Gradient will be stepped/posterized but preserved

Option 2 - Flatten gradient (recommended):

Use Logo preset with Detail 30
Gradient becomes solid colors
Manually recreate gradient in Figma (smoother result)

For logos with text

Important: Vectorized text becomes shapes (not editable text)Better approach:

Vectorize logo separately from text
Recreate text in Figma using matching font
Or: Outline text after vectorizing, then adjust in Figma

Why: Editable text is more flexible than traced shapes

Expected Results

Metric	Typical Range
File Size	5-50 KB
Processing Time	5-10 seconds
Quality	Professional, print-ready
Editability	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Easy

Scenario 2: Flat Illustration Vectorization

Goal: Convert stock illustration or artwork to editable vector

Starting Point

Typical situation:

Downloaded illustration from stock site
PNG format, decent resolution
Want to customize colors and elements
For landing page or presentation

Recommended Workflow

Assess the Illustration

Check complexity:

Simple flat (few colors, clean shapes) → Start with Logo preset
Moderate (10-20 colors, some detail) → Illustration preset ⭐
Complex (30+ colors, gradients) → High-Fidelity preset

Most fall into “Moderate” category → Illustration preset

Choose Settings

Recommended for most illustrations:

Preset: Illustration
Quality: Standard
Detail: 50 (adjust based on texture)
Colors: 32 (increase to 64 if many colors)
Draw Style: Fill Shapes
Fill Gaps: Enabled

For textured illustrations:

Increase Detail to 60-70 to preserve texture
Increase Colors to 64

For simple flat art:

Decrease Detail to 35-40 for cleaner result
Colors can stay at 32 or reduce to 16

Preview & Iterate

HD Preview with initial settings (2 credits)
Check if texture/details are preserved
Adjust Detail up/down as needed
Preview again (2 more credits)
Repeat until satisfied

Budget: 4-6 credits in previews is normal for getting it right

Convert

Once settings are dialed in, convert (10 credits).

Customize in Figma

Common edits for illustrations:

Recolor for brand
- Enter SVG group
- Select shapes by color
- Apply design system colors
Remove unwanted elements
- Delete specific shapes
- Hide layers
- Modify paths
Add to design system
- Create component
- Make color variants
- Use as illustration library

Illustration-Specific Tips

For UI Illustrations
For Marketing Graphics
For Infographic Elements

Onboarding screens, empty states, etc.:

Illustration preset
Detail: 40-50 (clean, simplified)
Colors: 16-32 (matches design system better)
Keep file size manageable for web

Post-processing:

Match to brand colors immediately
Create variants (success, error, loading)
Export as components

Scenario 3: Hand-Drawn Sketch Vectorization

Goal: Convert scanned drawing or photo of sketch to editable line art

Starting Point

Typical situation:

Scanned pencil/ink drawing
Photo of whiteboard sketch
Paper texture visible
Want clean vector paths for further illustration

Recommended Workflow

Optimize the Scan/Photo

Critical for good results:

Increase contrast
- In Figma: Effects → Adjust colors
- Make lines darker, background whiter
- Removes faint marks
Crop and rotate
- Straighten the sketch
- Crop to just the drawing
- Remove border/edges
Clean up if needed
- Erase stray marks in Figma
- Remove coffee stains, smudges
- Better input = better output

Choose Settings

Recommended configuration:

Preset: Line Art
Quality: High (precise line capture)
Detail: 70 (preserve fine lines)
Colors: 8 (mostly black/white)
Draw Style: Stroke Shapes (automatic with Line Art)
Fill Gaps: Disabled
Stroke Width: 2.0-3.0px (match original line thickness)

If losing fine lines:

Increase Detail to 80-90
Increase Quality to Ultra
Accept larger file size

Preview First

Always preview scanned sketches:

Check if fine lines are captured
Verify paper texture is removed (not preserved as shapes)
Zoom in to inspect line quality

Common issues:

Paper texture → Decrease Detail to 40-50
Lines too thin → Increase Stroke Width
Missing details → Increase Detail to 80

Convert

Convert once settings are right (10 credits).

Post-Processing

Clean up the line art:

Adjust stroke width
- Select all paths (Cmd/Ctrl + A)
- Change Stroke weight in properties
- Make uniform or varied
Manual cleanup
- Delete stray paths
- Connect broken lines
- Smooth rough sections
Add colors (if desired)
- Option 1: Outline Stroke → Fill shapes → Color
- Option 2: Add fills behind line art
- Option 3: Use as coloring page template

Sketch-Specific Tips

For very rough/textured sketches

Challenge: Paper texture and noiseSolution:

Decrease Detail to 30-40 (removes texture)
Increase contrast before converting (makes lines stand out)
Accept some loss of very faint lines
Manual touchup after conversion

Alternative: Scan at higher contrast initially

For technical drawings/wireframes

Goal: Precise, clean linesSettings:

Line Art preset
Quality: Ultra (maximum precision)
Detail: 60-70 (clean but accurate)
Stroke Width: 1.0-1.5px (thin, technical)

Post-processing:

Use Figma’s line snapping
Align to pixel grid
Create isometric or technical views

Creating coloring pages

Workflow:

Vectorize with Line Art preset
Stroke Width: 3-4px (thick, kid-friendly)
Export as SVG or PDF for printing
Or: Outline Stroke → Fill with white → Share as Figma template

Perfect for: Illustrated coloring books, kids’ activities

Scenario 4: Photo to Vector Art

Goal: Convert photo to artistic vector representation

Starting Point

Typical situation:

Photograph (portrait, product, landscape)
Want poster/artistic effect
Not realistic reproduction

Important: Vectorizing photos creates artistic interpretation, not photo-realistic reproduction. Manage expectations!

Recommended Workflow

Prepare Photo

Pre-processing helps significantly:

Crop to subject
- Remove background if possible
- Focus on main subject
- Simpler composition = better result
Adjust exposure/contrast
- Well-defined shapes vectorize better
- Avoid very dark or blown-out areas
- Increase contrast slightly
Resize if huge
- 2000-3000px max dimension
- Smaller = faster processing
- Quality won’t improve past certain size

Start Conservative

Try Illustration preset first:

Preset: Illustration
Quality: Standard
Detail: 50
Colors: 64
Preview to see result (2 credits)

Evaluate:

Too simplified? → Try High-Fidelity
Acceptable? → Done! (save 10 credits vs High-Fidelity)

Upgrade if Needed

If Illustration loses too much:

Preset: High-Fidelity
Quality: High or Ultra
Detail: 80
Colors: 256
Accept: Larger file (1-2 MB), slower processing

Preview first! (2 credits) — High-Fidelity takes 60 seconds, don’t convert blind

Convert

Use whichever preset worked best in previews.

Post-Processing

Artistic adjustments:

Simplify if too complex
- Right-click → Simplify
- Reduces paths
- Creates more “poster” effect
Adjust colors
- Increase saturation
- Apply color overlays
- Create duotone effect
Add effects
- Background blur
- Shadows
- Frames/borders

Artistic approach: Don’t aim for photo realism. Embrace the vector aesthetic!

Photo-Specific Tips

Portraits
Products
Landscapes/Scenes

Challenges: Skin tones, fine details (hair, eyes)Best approach:

High-Fidelity preset
Detail: 70-80
Colors: 256 (skin tone gradations)
Simplify after for artistic effect

Alternative: Use Illustration for stylized/cartoon effect

When NOT to Vectorize Photos

Photos are often better left as photos:

Realistic product photography
Portraits for documentation
Detailed textures (wood, fabric)
Web hero images (use WebP instead)

Vectorize photos only for: Artistic effects, posters, stylized graphics

General Best Practices

Always start with higher quality source

Input quality determines output quality:

Source Quality	Max Output Quality
4K+ image	Excellent
1920-2000px	Very good
800-1500px	Good
300-800px	Fair
Under 300px	Poor

Rule: Garbage in, garbage out. Get the best source possible.

Use HD Preview liberally

Preview is cheap insurance:

Cost: 2 credits (vs 10 for conversion)
Value: Avoid wasting 10 credits on bad settings
Math: 3 previews (6 credits) + 1 convert (10) = 16 total
- vs: 2 bad converts (20) = waste 4 credits

Don’t skip preview on unfamiliar image types!

Match settings to end use

Optimize for your actual need:

Use Case	Recommended Settings
Web icon (64px)	Logo preset, Standard quality
UI graphic (500px)	Illustration, Standard
Print poster	Illustration/High-Fidelity, High quality
Large format	High-Fidelity, Ultra quality

Don’t use Ultra quality for a 64px icon!

Embrace Figma's post-processing

Plugin gets you 90% there, Figma finishes it:Common Figma touchups:

Flatten shapes
Simplify paths
Boolean operations
Manual recoloring
Component creation

Don’t obsess over perfection in plugin — finish in Figma!

Build a settings library

Document what works:

Screenshot successful settings
Note image type and settings used
Record file size and quality results
Build internal playbook

Example doc:

Company Logos:
- Preset: Logo
- Detail: 25
- Colors: 16
- Results: 15-40 KB, clean edges

Batch similar images with same settings

Efficiency workflow:

Find optimal settings for first image (use Preview)
Write down the settings
Apply to all similar images (skip Preview)
Convert batch

Example: 20 team headshots → test 1, apply to all 20Savings: Massive time and credit savings

Optimization Checklist

Before converting, ask yourself:

Next Steps

Core Settings Deep Dive

Master Quality, Detail, Colors, and Style parameters

Troubleshooting Guide

Fix issues and optimize problematic conversions

Overview

Getting Started

User Guide

Support

Legal

Scenario-Based Workflows

Scenario 1: Company Logo Vectorization

Starting Point

Recommended Workflow

Logo-Specific Tips

Expected Results

Scenario 2: Flat Illustration Vectorization

Starting Point

Recommended Workflow

Illustration-Specific Tips

Scenario 3: Hand-Drawn Sketch Vectorization

Starting Point

Recommended Workflow

Sketch-Specific Tips

Scenario 4: Photo to Vector Art

Starting Point

Recommended Workflow

Photo-Specific Tips

When NOT to Vectorize Photos

General Best Practices

Optimization Checklist

Next Steps

Core Settings Deep Dive

Troubleshooting Guide

​Scenario-Based Workflows

​Scenario 1: Company Logo Vectorization

​Starting Point

​Recommended Workflow

​Logo-Specific Tips

​Expected Results

​Scenario 2: Flat Illustration Vectorization

​Starting Point

​Recommended Workflow

​Illustration-Specific Tips

​Scenario 3: Hand-Drawn Sketch Vectorization

​Starting Point

​Recommended Workflow

​Sketch-Specific Tips

​Scenario 4: Photo to Vector Art

​Starting Point

​Recommended Workflow

​Photo-Specific Tips

​When NOT to Vectorize Photos

​General Best Practices

​Optimization Checklist

​Next Steps

Core Settings Deep Dive

Troubleshooting Guide

Scenario-Based Workflows

Scenario 1: Company Logo Vectorization

Starting Point

Recommended Workflow

Logo-Specific Tips

Expected Results

Scenario 2: Flat Illustration Vectorization

Starting Point

Recommended Workflow

Illustration-Specific Tips

Scenario 3: Hand-Drawn Sketch Vectorization

Starting Point

Recommended Workflow

Sketch-Specific Tips

Scenario 4: Photo to Vector Art

Starting Point

Recommended Workflow

Photo-Specific Tips

When NOT to Vectorize Photos

General Best Practices

Optimization Checklist

Next Steps