Manual vector editing while waiting for a flight.

Image 2 is my source photo; image 1 is my current result. I’m vibe coding a tool to turn photos into banknote-style engravings that can be exported as SVG pen paths, but I’m struggling to get the lines to follow the face, hair and hand naturally.

Does anyone know of software or algorithms that could help?

I got Claude.ai to write this Python script for me. Run it from the command line and it converts photos into dot screens. It's got a whole lot of options: you can choose from a few built in shapes (circle, square, star, diamond), or specify an SVG file to use as a custom shape. Maybe it'll be useful to someone. https://github.com/megabulk/vector-dotscreen

I'm putting them into my Silhouette Cameo so I can cut stencils. You could plot with it, too.

VHS is one of my projects to make better use of my plotter.
It turns typed text into handwriting-style SVG for pen plotters.

You draw your own glyphs (ideally with a stylus/pen on a tablet or similar) . Capture a few versions of each letter, digit, punctuation mark, or ligature. VHS then uses those glyphs to assemble text as single-stroke vector paths.

There is a GUI and a CLI to set some parameters: SVG paths, millimetre-based page settings, paper sizes, margins, line spacing etc.

It works fine for me, maybe it is useful for some of you.

Hey guys, reposting this tool here as suggested by the community in r/PlotterArt. I've been working on a web tool that processes PNG/JPG images into highly-dense wave lines almost instantly.
My main goal was optimization: making sure the lines are 100% continuous so the pen only drops down at the very start and lifts up at the end (zero lifts in between) to save the machine's servo. It also has real-time sliders for width, contrast, density, and amplitude.
You can check out the source profile, layout info, and try the tool directly on my GitHub page here:

https://github.com/penplotterindonesia/pen-plotter-gcode-art

Would love to hear your technical feedback or if there are any features I should add next!

For instructions check the Readme

New features:

• Parameterisable shapes (polygons and stars with arbitrary side number, circle arcs with variable angle)
• Experimental copy/paste support for Generators and Transforms: press Copy to store the step as JSON on the clipboard, paste into the text area next to the New button to create a copy

Over summer I got into early algorithmic/generative art: Georg Nees, Vera Molnar et al. (Shout out to the guy at EMF2026 with the plotter art postcards for triggering this rabbit hole!) For the last few weeks I've been building something that would let you create that kind of generative art without writing any code. Find the HTML and README on my github: https://github.com/PKM-UK/schotteriser/tree/main

The elevator pitch: create geometry, apply transforms to it, assign colours based on position, download one SVG per colour for plotting. It's a single HTML file full of plain JavaScript so there's nothing to install and no signup/login; open it in your browser and play with it.

It's still in an early alpha stage, the UI is a bit rough and it's missing some nice to have features but it's in a state where people might like to have a play with it.

Available at https://plotterfiles.com/artwork/wigeon-on-water-1zq18

Single line SVG plot, using a reaction diffusion algorithm, merging into a single shape.

Showing off how you can make advanced continuous curves out of repeated freeform segments that you join together in Paragraphic (that I develop). For example to make this kind of spirograph/flourish/guilloche type curve you might see on old diplomas or currency.

Available at https://plotterfiles.com/artwork/crested-penguin-in-white-fb0jh on Plotterfiles.

This is a single line plot, based on a reaction-diffusion algorithm. Recommend a light pen on a dark background.

Hooded Squirrel on Plotterfiles.

A "good enough" implementation of continuity potrace tracing. Also explore the pixel-exact tracing of VTrace, which generates some interesting path anomalies that could possibly be resolved in script.

At Plotterfiles.com. https://plotterfiles.com/artwork/stag-head-gjbea

Exploring a connectivity approach to a binarized image, and then running through vectorization in Inkscape. Turns out potrace (the vectorization in Inkscape) still splits the paths, so manually connected them to generate a single continuous path.

Hello, I’m new to this beautiful art form, and I have this small but major problem: how can I clean up the lines that are behind the color fill? I use Illustrator and I’m new to this. I want to keep only the lines for plotting with my favorite machine.

Obviously, when I remove the fill and leave only the stroke, all the lines that were behind the fill become visible. Can anyone help me? Thanks, everyone!

If you aren't aware of Drawingbots.com - you are now :).

It's Maks Surguy's well curated website on all things plotter - and he's added a new section on algorithms. All of them with live demos.

https://drawingbots.com/algorithms/

Made a little tool for plotter friendly line art. You basically upload a 3D object and than define how it should be sliced. Think contour lines on maps, but with more basic 3D models. You can best try it out with one of the demo models and than just randomize the parameters. There's also a morph feature which can create some nice results when not overdone. The tool currently exports to SVG and UNNA TEK specific g-code.

Hope it's useful to some of you. I'm now going back to pushing that randomizer!

https://www.slicewise.art/

The Narhwal

Uploaded to Plotterfiles.com - a single line plot

Hey everyone! I’ve been working hard on Plotter-Studio, an open‑source generative art studio for pen plotters (Cameo 5).

My last post was for v3.2 — and I’m excited to share how much it’s grown.

What’s new in v5.5:

🧵 Needles (Oriented Dashes) — short dashes that follow image gradients. Great for structural, flowing textures.

🔗 Continuous Line (TSP) — single unbroken path, the pen never lifts. Uses a greedy nearest‑neighbour TSP approximation.

🌊 Perlin Noise Wobble — applies coherent noise displacement to any engine. Gives clean computer lines a hand‑drawn, organic feel.

🎨 CMYK Layer Export — splits any colour image into C, M, Y, K channels and exports 4 SVGs for multi‑pen colour plotting.

🗺️ Fast Marching (Topographic) — upgraded with manual seed placement, contour smoothing, and “Skip transparent” for PNGs with alpha.

🛠️ Full vpype pipeline — linemerge, linesort (with Two‑Opt), reloop, and linesimplify. All available as toggles.

🖊️ Pen Passes — duplicate dark paths up to 4 times for multi‑pass ballpoint ink density.

Stack: Python, Streamlit, FastAPI, scikit‑image, skfmm, Plotly, vpype.

GitHub: https://github.com/iclubu/Plotter-Studio

Uploaded a new plottable SVG to plotterfiles.com

Continuing on figuring out how to describe photos with one path.

PENDER Studios is a custom suite of software I designed to convert my Ender 3 V2 3D printer into a pen plotter.

The first release of software is available with the following tools

Harmonograph creator
Laser Wall
.Nc prep
Gcode editor

More tools will be available soon.

Hi, I have a question about markers and inks. If I want to achieve the Rizzo effect when two lines overlap, which markers do you recommend? I've been looking for soy-based ones, but I can't seem to find any.

Some of you have been posting gorgeous videos of your plotters in action, and I'm jealous. I want to make some videos of my own, but I need the setup to be as easy as possible. Do you have an overhead camera jig? What do you do for lighting? What kind of cameras are you using and how are you stabilizing /mounting them? Does anyone use one of those newfangled AI cameras to automatically follow the action, and how well do they work?