# Tracing an image

**URL:** <https://forums.sketchup.com/t/tracing-an-image/157006>\
**Category:** Pro\
**Tags:** sketchup, advice\
**Created:** [March 15, 2021, 7:34am UTC](https://forums.sketchup.com/t/tracing-an-image/157006 "2021-03-15T07:34:07Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![maynardjd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ebca7d/32.png) [@maynardjd](https://forums.sketchup.com/u/maynardjd)\
**Post date:** [March 15, 2021, 7:34am UTC](https://forums.sketchup.com/t/tracing-an-image/157006/1 "2021-03-15T07:34:07Z")

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I’ve been helping my wife with her cookie making business by designing (on Sketchup) and then 3D printing cookie cutters for her. She draws the image and then I import the image and manually trace it to create the .skp file which I then covert to an .stl.

I’m just wondering, is there an extension that will trace these images for me? It’s basically a line drawing. I don’t mind (and actually enjoy) tracing them and then extruding them the way I need. But…if there is an easier way, I’m open to it. I’ve looked at Bitmap Mesh, but I’m not sure that fits the bill. Any suggestions?

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**Author:** ![mihai.s](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/sketchup/user_avatar/forums.sketchup.com/mihai.s/32/202022_2.png) [@mihai.s](https://forums.sketchup.com/u/mihai.s)\
**Post date:** [March 15, 2021, 7:40am UTC](https://forums.sketchup.com/t/tracing-an-image/157006/2 "2021-03-15T07:40:58Z")

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> [@How can I transform a 2d image into a 3d model?](https://forums.sketchup.com/t/how-can-i-transform-a-2d-image-into-a-3d-model/27429/88):
>
> If you have Photoshop there is a chance you have Illustrator, and you can get a good SketchUp model with a few steps: Open the PSD in Illustrator, choose the option to flatten the image. Select the flattened image, and choose Object, Image Trace, Make and Expand. Choose File, Export, Export as… and export a DXF or DWG. The default settings seem to do ok. Import that into SketchUp. There are some difficulties, if you are only using the Free web version, and even the free desktop Ma…

or with Jim’s plugin

> [@How can I transform a 2d image into a 3d model?](https://forums.sketchup.com/t/how-can-i-transform-a-2d-image-into-a-3d-model/27429/80):
>
> Google is moving legacy sites to a new framework using Google Drive. This has corrupted my links ;( Try this one: [spirix\_bmp\_tracer.rbz - Google Drive](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tY2X41dqTl4ppTK2825n5YzCG_zJXmS8/view) Sorry about that …

and with [Inkscape](https://inkscape.org/)

[![](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/sketchup/original/3X/2/7/277f62d219cffae0fa43a65c27d70d585acfe018.jpeg "2D image to 3D model | Inkscape + SketchUp") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvzH2AASCI0)