Learn/Design/Import, raster & trace
Raster canvas & trace
At a glance
- Drop or paste PNG, JPEG, WebP, BMP, or static GIF as a reference canvas on any layer
- Non-destructive filters on the canvas until you commit a trace
- Trace converts bitmaps into editable vector contours with live preview before you bake geometry
Drop an image onto the viewport, paste one from the clipboard, or use File → Import — PNG, JPEG, WebP, BMP, and static GIF all land as a Canvas on the current layer. A canvas is strictly raster reference: it moves, scales, and rotates with the same marquee handles as shapes, but it never becomes vector geometry until you trace it. Right-click a canvas to lock it in place while you work over it.
Non-destructive image adjustments
Edit Image... on the canvas right-click menu opens live sliders for Opacity, Brightness, Contrast, Gamma, Saturation, Hue, Blur, Threshold, and Alpha Cutoff, plus Grayscale, Invert, and a B/W Threshold Preview toggle. Everything is a stored parameter applied on display — the original image stays untouched, so you can crush a photo to high-contrast black and white for tracing and dial it back later. The trace reads the filtered result, so these adjustments directly shape what gets traced.
Trace
Trace Image... opens the trace dialog with four modes: Threshold (light/dark), Transparency (alpha edges — ideal for logos on transparent PNGs), Edge / Sketch, and Color Bands (2–12 bands for multi-tone art). Sliders for Threshold, Alpha Cutoff, Ignore Less Than (drops speck contours whose perimeter is under a pixel cutoff), and Smoothness redraw the vector preview live over the image, with optional Show Points and Fade Image aids — you see exactly what you'll get before committing. Your settings persist between sessions.
The fitter is Potrace-style: it keeps dominant corners sharp, fits smooth spans with curves, and commits clean, editable contour shapes onto the canvas's layer. A Delete Image After Trace toggle removes the reference once you've baked it; otherwise the canvas stays for another pass.