Vexy Lines for Mac & Windows | Download | Buy | Batch GUI | CLI/MCP | API | .lines format
The Book of Vexy¶
The complete guide to Vexy Lines: the desktop app that turns raster images into expressive, scalable vector artwork.
Who this is for¶
Graphic designers, illustrators, printmakers, tattoo artists, laser-cutter operators: anyone who turns photographs into vector line art. No programming knowledge needed through Part 5. Part 6 introduces the automation tools step by step.
Quick paths¶
New to Vexy Lines? Start with Getting Started in Five Minutes, then follow Part 1 article by article.
Looking for a specific fill? Jump to Part 2: The Fill Parade for all twelve algorithms.
Need to export for print? See Preparing Files for Print.
Want a recipe? The Gallery of Techniques has twelve copy-and-follow recipes.
Just want the overview? Read The One-Page Manual.
What's inside¶
| Part | Articles | What you'll learn |
|---|---|---|
| Front Matter | 3 | Table of contents, one-page summary, introduction |
| Part 1: Getting Started | 12 | Install, workspace, first artwork, layers, export |
| Part 2: The Fill Parade | 14 | Every fill algorithm explained with walkthroughs |
| Part 3: Properties | 12 | Colour, thickness, threshold, interval, angle, emboss |
| Part 4: Composition | 10 | Masks, meshes, groups, layer ordering |
| Part 5: Workflows | 12 | Portraits, print, tattoo, laser, comics, guilloche |
| Part 6: Power Tools | 12 | CLI, Python SDK, MCP API, video, AI workflows |
75 articles. ~120,000 words. Everything you need to make work people remember.
Related documentation¶
- .lines File Format: parse
.linesfiles in Python - MCP API & Style Engine: programmatic control and style transfer
- CLI & MCP Bridge: command-line tools and AI assistant integration
- Batch GUI: desktop app for batch and video processing
About Vexy Lines¶
In 2007, Dmitry Apanovich released Strokes Maker, a focused tool that helped designers build engraving-style drawings from everyday images. A few years later, Dmitry joined FontLab to work on font-editing tools, while he supported Strokes Maker and explored new ideas.
Vexy Lines is the result: a careful rewrite combining Strokes Maker's proven approach with FontLab's product craft, a calmer UI, and a dependable desktop foundation.
Vexy Lines Run¶
A desktop batch GUI for style transfer. Export multiple .lines files, apply styles to images or video.
macOS: Open Terminal, paste, press Enter:
curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh && "$HOME/.local/bin/uvx" --python 3.12 vexy-lines-run@latest
Windows: Open Command Prompt, paste, press Enter:
powershell -ExecutionPolicy ByPass -c "irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex; $env:Path = \"$HOME\.local\bin;$HOME\AppData\Roaming\uv;$env:Path\"; uvx --python 3.12 vexy-lines-run@latest"