Sketch to G-code
A hand drawing straight to a toolpath. Centerline mode runs one pass down each stroke, which is what an engraver or a pen plotter wants.
Works with: GRBL · LightBurn · Mach3 · Candle · UGS
Drop several files at once to convert the whole folder in one pass. Got a different format? A PNG, JPG, HEIC, PDF, SVG or DXF still comes out as G-code.
Or draw here with a mouse, a finger or a pen
× removes a colour and its shapes; click a swatch to change it. Every format follows.
- Runs in this tab
- No sign-up
- Full resolution out
Batch
Every file is traced on its own at its own resolution, with the settings in the panel. A file converted here comes out identical to the same file converted by itself.
Every format
Conversion settings
Trace settings
Full-colour trace for print and web.
Fine-tune
Raise it to clear dust, grain and stray dots; 0 keeps every mark.
Untick for pixel art: the outline then follows every pixel edge.
With Remove background: how close a colour must be to the background to go with it.
Machine output
Height follows the source aspect ratio.
Laser and Router follow the traced outlines. Engrave photo burns the picture itself, line by line, for photos and portraits.
Heat transfer vinyl is pressed face down, so it has to be cut mirrored. The second box is the overcut in millimetres: a drag knife starts each shape pointing the wrong way, and running past the start covers that stretch properly so the piece weeds out clean.
Beam or bit width. Left at zero the tool runs down the centre of the line, so a part finishes one tool width undersize. Set it and the path is offset by half, with holes offset the opposite way.
Holes before the part that holds them, so nothing comes loose while there is still cutting to do. Also shortens the travel between cuts.
See it on your product
Put this artwork on a 3D mug, tumbler, sign, phone case or canvas, turn it all the way round, or drop it onto a photograph of your own blank. The preview page has the product picker, the colours and the placement controls.
Open the preview and renderHow it works
Upload your artwork
Mono mode is preset, a single cut outline is what a machine wants, not colour layers.
Set your real size
Choose millimetres or inches and the finished width. The file carries physical units, not pixels.
Check the preview, then cut
Inspect the toolpath before you download. Cuts draw solid, rapids dashed.
Drawing to G-code: turn a hand drawing into a toolpath
Drawing to gcode in one step: photograph the drawing, drop it here and download G-code for GRBL, LightBurn, Candle, UGS or Mach3. Centerline mode runs the tool once down the middle of each line, which is what a laser engraver, pen plotter or V-bit wants, rather than tracing both sides of every stroke.
How to turn a drawing to G-code
- Draw in dark ink on white paper and photograph it square on.
- Upload it here; centerline mode is already chosen.
- Set the real width, the feed rate and laser power or cut depth.
- Download the .gcode and dry-run it above the material first.
People also search for
- sketch to gcode
- picture to gcode
- drawing to laser file
- pen plotter gcode
Why it matters
Correct units, stated in the file
DXF exports write $INSUNITS. Without it a part imports at 25.4x the intended size, which is the single most common cause of a ruined first cut.
Y axis the right way up
SVG puts +Y down the screen; CAD and CAM put it up. We flip it. Exporting without that correction gives a part mirrored about the X axis, it cuts, but backwards.
Closed contours
A cutter following an open outline leaves the part attached. Outlines are closed, and anything that is not is flagged before you download.
Conservative G-code
The tool is disengaged before every reposition, retracted before every rapid, and the program always ends tool-off and clear.
Is Sketch to G-code worth paying for?
A G-code is the file a shop actually runs. Walk through the artwork requirements a laser cutter, a CNC shop or a sign maker publishes and the same request appears: send something a machine can follow. What turns up instead is a screenshot or a logo pulled off a website at 600 pixels, and somebody redraws it by hand — twenty-five to forty minutes — or sends it to an art service at $25 to $60 a file.
The conversion here is free and unlimited and stays that way. The paid plan is what unlocks the machine formats, which are never watermarked at any tier because a mark in a cut file is extra cut paths a machine would run.
Questions
How do I turn a drawing into G-code?
Upload a photo or scan of the drawing here, keep centerline mode for single-line engraving (or outline mode for cutting shapes out), set the size and feed, and download the G-code.
Does it work with a laser and a CNC router?
Yes. Laser mode writes M3/M5 with a power value; router mode retracts to a safe Z and plunges to your cut depth for each path.
What units does the file use?
Whichever you pick, millimetres or inches, and the choice is written into the file header so the receiving software does not have to guess.
Will this work with my laser?
DXF is written as R2000 by default, which LightBurn, Fusion, AutoCAD and current CAM packages all read. There is an R12 option for older controllers that predate LWPOLYLINE.
Can I trust the G-code?
Preview the toolpath first, and dry-run any new program above the material. The generated code assumes you have set your own work origin, and it homes nothing.
Reading on G-code and machine files
Sketch to G-code: here, by hand, or on a server
| Veconvert | Illustrator, by hand | A paid vectorizer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it costs | Free preview; one file for $3.49 as a guest ($3.99 for technical files), $6.50 in bulk | $23 a month | $8–15 a month |
| How long it takes | Seconds | 30–60 minutes by hand | Seconds |
| Skill needed | None. Drop the file | You have to be able to draw | None |
| Where your file goes | Nowhere. It stays in this tab | Stays on your machine | Uploaded to a server |
| G-code with real units | Yes | Yes, with setup | Usually pixels |
| Machine files too | DXF, G-code, PLT, STL from the same trace | Separate export each time | Rarely |
More converters and tools
Ready to convert your Sketch?
Free, unlimited, no account, and nothing leaves this tab.
Convert a Sketch now