How To Convert JPEG Or PNG To SVG For Cricut Design Space

How do you convert JPG to SVG for cricut?

Knowing how to make an SVG from your own images is a must in order to get the most out of your Cricut machine!

Once you know how to upload JPGs or PNGs into Cricut Design Space, and convert them into SVGs, the world is your oyster. In this Design Space tutorial I will show you exactly how to do it, step-by-step.

How To Make Your Own Cut Files From Images

If you’ve used your Cricut a few times you will know what an SVG is, right?

But, did you know that you can not only upload SVGs, but ANY of your own basic images into Design Space too – even family photos! You can download any image from Google, Pinterest, or any website (check the license of the image), and upload them to Cricut Design Space.

In this post I’m going to show you how to upload the two most basic types of images – PNG and JPG images.

These image types will upload as only one layer in Design Space, while SVG’s usually upload with multiple layers. You can also find out how to turn a PNG or JPG image into a multi-layered cut file here.

PNG and JPG images upload into Design Space slightly differently, as you’ll see in this tutorial. These types of images can be uploaded and saved as a print-then-cut, or as a normal cut file, to be cut out of vinyl or card-stock (or any number of other materials!).

When searching for and saving an image from the web, you’ll want to find an image with the highest resolution possible. This will give a higher quality image in Design Space. If the image resolution is too low, it may appear pixelated once it is uploaded. This applies both to JPG and PNG images.

How To Convert A JPEG To SVG

Let’s start with how to upload and convert a JPG to SVG for Cricut. You’ll be able to distinguish a JPG image by the fact that it still has a white background, which we will be able to remove in Design Space. PNG images have the background already removed and they have a grid pattern in the background instead.

1. First, open a new project in Cricut Design Space and click ‘upload’.

2. Click ‘upload image’.

3. Click ‘browse’ and select the file you would like to upload. I found this JPG image on Google Images. There are heaps of free personal use and commercial use images available. Click ‘open’ and your file will upload.

4. Select the image type. I’m selecting ‘simple’. As this image is black and white, and there isn’t any fine detail, I would consider this a simple image. I’ll show you what I consider complex when I upload a PNG image later on in this post.

5. Remove the background. To do this, click on the wand tool and click on all the parts of the background that aren’t actually part of your image. The areas you click on will turn into a grid pattern.

This step will turn your image into a cut file. Here you can zoom in and out, remove parts of your image that you don’t want, and clean up any random cut lines that may appear around your image. Click ‘preview’ to see what your cut image will look like before continuing on to the next step.

Once all of the background is erased, click ‘continue’.

6. Select whether you would like to save your image as a ‘print then cut image’ or as a ‘cut image’. As I only have a silhouette of Cinderella here, I’m not going to be using the print then cut feature. But, if I did have the proper color image of Cinderella then I could make some awesome stickers using print then cut!

To cut this silhouette out of heat transfer vinyl, I would need to select ‘save as a cut image’. Another option, if you have a colored image, is to save it as a print then cut now, and you can always change it into a cut file later on! Here you can also write in some tags, so that you’ll easily be able to search for your image later on.

7. Click your uploaded image to select it, and then click ‘insert images’.

8. Voila! Your new cut file! This silhouette would look great on a toddler shirt in pink glitter HTV!

Convert PNG Image Into Cricut Design Space (Complex Image)

Now I’m going to show you how to upload a PNG image into Design Space. It’s much the same process, apart from the fact that PNG images already have the background removed and have a grid pattern instead. This is ideal because you don’t have to spend time cleaning up PNG images, like you usually do with JPG images!

1. Open a new project in Design Space and click ‘upload’.

2. Select ‘upload image’.

3. Click ‘browse’ and select your image. Click ‘open’ and click ‘continue’.

4. Select the image type. Here I’m selecting ‘complex’ because my image has multiple colors and fine detail.

5. As this is a PNG image, I don’t need to remove the background. However, now is the time I can remove any other parts of the image that I don’t want saved. Click preview to see what your cut image will look like before clicking ‘continue’.

6. Select ‘save as a print then cut image’ or ‘save as a cut image’ depending on what you’re using the image for. Saving the image as a print then cut preserves the original image, while saving it as a cut image only saves the image silhouette. Write the image name and some tags so you can find the image later. Click ‘save’.

7. Select your uploaded image and click ‘insert images’.

8. And we’re all done! Here’s my image on the canvas. You can see on the side that there’s a little printer symbol which means it’s a print then cut image.

If you decide later on that you want to use your print then cut image as a normal cut image, simply click the printer symbol on the right side of the canvas and change it to ‘cut’.

So there you go, that’s how to convert jpg to svg for cricut Cricut Design Space and convert them into Cricut cut files. The possibilities with this feature of Design Space are endless!

Any more questions? Ask away in the comment section below.

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