SVG to Laser

SVG to Laser turns vector artwork into still or animated ILDA files. Load an SVG, choose an Iconify icon, or start with a Quick Load shape, then use the same animation modifiers as Text to Laser.

Supported Inputs

• Drag-and-drop SVG files from your computer (maximum size 10 MB)
• Iconify icon library — 200,000+ icons, searched by name
• Quick Load shapes — Built-in circle, square, triangle, and classic NIN logo for testing

Step-by-Step Workflow

Conversion Options

Output is always ILDA Format 5 (2D True Color). If you need Format 0/1 for legacy hardware, open the result in the ILDA Viewer and convert via its Export ILDA dialog.

Trace

Simplify runs from 0.5–6.0 and defaults to 2.0. Raise it to remove redundant points from long or densely sampled paths; lower it when a detailed curve loses visible shape. Sharp corners, closures, colors, and separate paths stay anchored to the SVG.

Smooth curves has OFF, NORMAL (default), and STRONG levels. It changes curved SVG paths only, so straight logo edges and right-angle corners stay sharp. Changing either Trace control re-converts instantly.

Show Point Density

A visualization toggle that overlays the individual laser points on the preview so you can see where points cluster. Dense clusters are where the scanner slows down — useful for spotting stress before export.

Beam Color

A color palette that sets the beam color applied to the converted output. Pick a palette color; the preview and the exported file both use it.

Animation & Modifiers

Open Animation & Modifiers in the right-hand Properties panel. Its Quick Starts match Text to Laser:

• Write draws the artwork stroke by stroke.
• Tracer sends moving tails along its outlines.
• Glitch breaks up and displaces parts of the drawing.
• Sparkle adds sparse moving accents.
• Pulse fades brightness down and back up.
• Neon Ink combines a drawing reveal with changing color and a settling ink effect.

Each Quick Start replaces the current chain with editable modifiers. Use + Add to stack Trace Reveal, Color Flow, Ink Settle, Glitch, Sparkle, Soft Pulse, Beam Runners, Sweep, Contact FX, Spotlights, Laser Cannon, Trace Bars, Grid, or Color Ramps. Their controls and preset files work the same way in Text to Laser.

Trace Reveal starts with a moving leading dot. Turn on Keep laser trace to leave the completed outline behind it. Play on any modifier restarts the whole animation. Use the enable dot to switch an effect off, Reset to restore that modifier's settings, or its remove button to delete it. Clear removes the complete chain. Save Preset and Load let you share a modifier look between artwork and text.

For an effect with its own duration, Hold After Effect adds time after that effect finishes; the total is shown beneath the slider. For other chains, Duration sets the animation length. Frame Rate offers 24, 25, 30, 48, or 60 FPS. Check SAFETY CHECK again after changing the chain or frame rate.

The canvas preview, downloaded ILDA, ILDA Viewer handoff, and Live playback show the animated result. Replacing the SVG keeps the chosen modifiers; Reset clears the artwork and its animation. For audio-controlled modifiers, continue in Animation Studio.

Working With Iconify

1. Type a name or keyword into the icon search box (e.g., "lightning bolt", "music", "arrow")
2. Press enter or click the search button
3. Click any result to load it instantly

Search is by name only — there are no style or category filters. The icon library contains icons from 100+ open-source icon sets including Material Symbols, Phosphor, Tabler, and Heroicons.

Design Tips

Sending to Animation Studio

Click Send to Animation Studio to continue with an editable SVG layer. The layer keeps your beam color, modifiers, and complete animation duration, including Hold After Effect. You can adjust the imported modifiers in the Animation tab. From there you can:

• Add keyframe animation
• Apply audio-reactive parameters
• Layer it with other shapes
• Export a full animation sequence

Opening in Viewer

Click "Open in ILDA Viewer" to load your conversion directly into the ILDA Viewer for analysis. This is the recommended step before exporting to hardware — check the stress heat map and safety report.

Convert or Live

The Convert / Live switch at the top of the workspace picks what the tool drives.

Convert (the default) is the file workflow described above: tune the conversion, then download ILDA or hand off to another tool.

Live streams the converted frames straight to a laser. The Laser Output panel appears in the Properties sidebar (the sidebar opens itself when you switch): choose Preview or a supported DAC — Helios directly, Ether Dream and LaserCube through the Bridge app. The moment hardware connects, the safety dock appears along the bottom edge with the device status, Power, Arm, Blackout, and Start; collapsing a sidebar can never hide it. Confirm the two-step Arm, then press Start — the playing frame goes to the projector at the point rate set by your device profile, through the same output pipeline as every other laser tool. The panel's Frame rate slider trades detail against flicker: the per-frame point budget is the scanner rate divided by the frame rate. Galvo speed, Power limit, Corner brightness (Advanced), and Color delay (Advanced) are documented in full under Laser DAC Output, and the color delay is remembered per DAC.

Related

• How to convert SVG to ILDA — the illustrated version, start to finish
• Laser show safety guide — what to settle before the file reaches a projector

Further Reading