Silhouette Studio Trace tool - The basics

Hey there, it's Sara. Today I wanted to introduce you to the tracing tool. Once you understand the tool, you will appreciate the amount of images you'll be able to create with it.

For this tutorial I am using a vintage santa clipart.

When you want to trace something, it's best to find an image that has a high resolution and a bit of contrast of colours so it is easy for you to trace. 

On this design we only want to trace the santa and here is the basic three options you have for tracing:

1. Trace - tracing the whole object

2. Trace outer edge - tracing only the edges of the shape

3. Trace an detach 

The difference between High Pass Filter and Low Pass Filter:

High Pass filter: Traces from the edges of your image and works towards the inside of the image. That is the default choice when you want to do tracing. 

The value slider determines how well your image will be traced:

When you decrease the value, the lines will be thinner and less details will be added.

When you increase the value, the lines get thicker and more details will be highlighted. 

Low Pass Filter: This filter does the opposite of the High Pass filter. Tracing starts at the centre of your image and traces towards the edges.  I usually use this option as it gives a cleaner cut to my images. Also is best for print and cut as it will trace the edges of image in more details and wont leave a white line around your shape when cutting it.


Threshold: The threshold is a great tool to perfect your trace, helps you control how you want to trace your image. The darkest colours being traced at the low percentages and lighter colours added in the higher percentages. I use this tool a lot, so play around with the percentage till you feel you have the best tracing result.


Scale Option: Another tool that is handy to perfect your trace, is the Scale option, this option controls how smooth your trace will be in pixel form.

The more you increase it, the more pixilated the trace will be. A great option to use when you have an image with low resolution.

That was the basics of tracing! I hope this has helped you with getting better traces. Remember if you want to trace pictures, to use another program to make it black and white and add as much contrast as possible to it so it will be easier for you to trace!

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