Illustrator: Convert an Image to Vector Logo Artwork

To convert an image to vector in Illustrator, place the image, select it, and run Image Trace. A preset such as Black and White Logo or Sketched Art is a good starting point. Adjust the trace settings until the shapes match the original, then click Expand to turn the trace into editable paths. For logo work, Image Trace is usually only the first step. Hand-drawn sketches, low-resolution JPGs and soft-edged PNGs normally need manual cleanup or a full redraw with the Pen or Curvature tool. Lettering should usually be rebuilt with real type rather than traced.

Two terms set the scope of this guide. A raster image, such as a JPG, PNG or scan, is a grid of pixels. It blurs or turns jagged when enlarged. A vector is artwork made of paths: mathematically defined lines and curves with anchor points and handles. A path can be scaled to any size, recolored and edited point by point. Converting to vector means replacing pixels with paths. Saving a pixel image under a vector-sounding file extension does not convert it.

Before you start

The menu names and panel options below match recent Creative Cloud versions of Illustrator, where Image Trace replaced the older Live Trace. Labels and menu locations can change between releases, so check them against your installed version. Keyboard shortcuts are given for Windows first, then Mac.

• A source image with clear contrast between the artwork and its background. For a sketch, use dark, closed lines on plain paper.
• A scan or photo that is sharp at the edges. Shoot straight on to avoid perspective distortion, and light the paper evenly to avoid shadows. The brief contained no evidence for a specific scan resolution. In general, a cleaner, larger source gives a cleaner trace.
• Optional cleanup in an image editor before tracing: crop, straighten, raise contrast and remove smudges or paper texture.
• Confirmation that you have the right to reproduce the logo. A file you can open or trace is not permission to reuse someone else's mark.

Step 1: Set up the document and place the image

• Create a new document with File > New. Choose RGB color mode for screen use or CMYK for print. You can change this later under File > Document Color Mode.
• Choose File > Place and select your JPG, PNG or scan.
• If you plan to redraw by hand, select the Template option in the Place dialog. This puts the image on a locked, dimmed template layer that you can draw over.
• If you plan to use Image Trace, place the image normally and click on the artboard to drop it in.

Step 2: Trace the image with Image Trace

• Select the placed image. The Control or Properties panel should identify it as an image or linked file, not a path.
• Open Window > Image Trace.
• Choose a preset. Black and White Logo suits solid single-color marks. Sketched Art or Line Art suits pencil and ink drawings. Silhouettes suits filled shapes. The low-color presets, such as 3 Colors or 6 Colors, suit flat multicolor logos.
• Keep Preview checked so changes update on the artboard, then open the Advanced section.

Image Trace settings that matter most for logos:

Setting | What it controls | Logo tip

Mode | Color, Grayscale or Black and White output | Use Black and White for one-color marks. Use Color with a limited palette for flat colored logos.

Threshold | Which pixels become black in Black and White mode | Raise it to thicken thin sketch lines. Lower it to drop faint marks and paper texture.

Colors | Number of colors kept in Color mode | Set it to the number of colors actually in the logo.

Paths | How closely paths follow pixel edges | Lower values give smoother, simpler curves.

Corners | How readily sharp corners form | Raise it for geometric marks. Lower it for organic shapes.

Noise | Smallest pixel area treated as a shape | Raise it to ignore specks and scan dust.

Method | Abutting (cut-out) or Overlapping (stacked) shapes | Abutting is easier to recolor shape by shape. Overlapping avoids gaps between colors.

Create: Fills or Strokes | Whether output is filled shapes or centerline strokes | Use Fills for most logos. Strokes only suits single-weight line drawings.

Snap Curves to Lines | Straightens nearly straight curves | Turn it on for logos with straight edges.

Ignore White | Drops white areas instead of tracing them as shapes | Turn it on so the background does not become a white shape.

• Use the View menu in the Image Trace panel to compare the tracing result with its outlines and the source image.
• When the shapes match the original closely, click Expand in the Control or Properties panel, or choose Object > Expand. Object > Image Trace > Make and Expand does both steps at once with the current settings.
• Expanding converts the live trace into ordinary vector paths and makes it permanent. Until you expand, the trace stays linked to its settings and the source image.

Step 3: Clean up the paths

Traces of hand-drawn or low-quality images typically come out with excess anchor points, wobbly curves and lopsided shapes that should be symmetrical. Fix these before treating the file as finished logo artwork.

• Ungroup the result with Object > Ungroup and delete stray fragments. If Ignore White was off, also delete any white background shape.
• Reduce extra anchor points with Object > Path > Simplify, checking that the shape does not drift from the design.
• Redraw problem areas with the Pen tool or the Curvature tool. Draw with as few anchor points as possible, and place points at the extremes of curves.
• Rebuild geometric parts, such as circles, straight bars and repeated shapes, with the shape tools and Window > Pathfinder rather than keeping traced approximations.
• Use Smart Guides, under View > Smart Guides, and the Align panel to fix alignment and symmetry. For a symmetrical mark, finish one half, then copy and reflect it with Object > Transform > Reflect.
• Join open endpoints with Object > Path > Join so that filled shapes are closed.

Sketch-based logos often turn out better when redrawn rather than traced. Place the sketch as a template layer and trace over it with the Pen or Curvature tool on a new layer. This gives you clean, deliberate curves and a low anchor count from the start. It also lets you correct proportions the sketch only approximated.

Step 4: Handle lettering and typography

Image Trace treats letters as shapes, so traced text tends to come out with uneven stroke weights, soft corners and inconsistent spacing. How you handle lettering depends on where it came from.

• If the wordmark uses an existing typeface, identify the font, set the text live with the Type tool, and match its size, tracking and kerning to the original. Recent versions of Illustrator include a font-identification feature for text in images. Check whether yours does, and confirm the result by eye.
• Make sure the font license allows logo use before building the mark with it.
• If the lettering is custom hand-drawn work, redraw it letter by letter over the template, as you would any other path. Keep repeated strokes, such as stems and bowls, at consistent weights.
• For delivery, keep an editable copy with live type. In the delivery copy, convert the text with Type > Create Outlines so the file displays correctly on systems without the font.

Step 5: Confirm the result is fully vector

• Switch to Outline view with View > Outline, or Ctrl+Y on Windows and Cmd+Y on Mac. Vector artwork shows as thin path outlines. Any remaining raster image shows as a box with an X through it.
• Delete or hide the original image or template layer once the vector version is finished.
• Open Window > Document Info and choose Embedded Images or Linked Images from the panel menu. The final logo should list none.
• Check Window > Links. It should be empty unless you have deliberately kept a reference image on a non-printing layer.
• Select everything and zoom in closely. Curves should stay smooth, with no stair-stepped pixel edges, stray points, gaps between shapes or unintended overlaps.
• Scale a copy of the logo very small and very large. Thin details that disappear at small sizes may need thickening or a simplified variant.
• If the design uses stroked paths, convert them to filled shapes with Object > Path > Outline Stroke. This keeps line weights fixed when the logo is scaled.

Step 6: Save and export for use

• Save a master file with File > Save As in Illustrator format (AI). Keep live type and layers in it for future edits.
• For print vendors who request it, save a PDF or EPS copy with text outlined.
• For websites and apps, export SVG with File > Export > Export As, or with File > Save As and SVG as the format. Inspect the SVG to confirm it contains paths and not an embedded image.
• For contexts that only accept pixel images, export PNG or JPG from the vector master with File > Export > Export for Screens or Export As, at the size each use requires.
• Match the color mode to the destination: CMYK or spot colors for print, RGB for screen.

A file extension alone does not prove a logo is vector. An SVG, PDF, EPS or even AI file can contain an embedded JPG or PNG with no paths at all. Run the Outline view and Document Info checks from Step 5 on any logo file you receive or deliver, rather than trusting the extension.

Gaps in this guide

No version-specific documentation, measurements or test results were supplied for this article. Menu paths and panel options are described from general knowledge of current Illustrator releases and should be checked in your version. The guide gives no recommended scan resolution, trace values or file-size targets, because no evidence was provided to support specific numbers. Adjust settings by comparing the trace against the original at close zoom.