Fills Overview

A fill is what actually does the work in Vexy Lines. It reads your source image and draws vector strokes from it — lines, waves, dots, scribbles, shapes — getting thicker where the image is dark and thinner where it's light.

You need at least one fill in a document. One fill on one layer is already real vector art you can export. Anything beyond that is just stacking more on top.

How a fill works

There are three steps to it:

  1. It lays down pattern paths. First it spreads base geometry across the canvas: parallel lines for Linear, sinusoids for Wave, a dot grid for Halftone. This is where strokes can go, and you control it with parameters like interval and angle.
  2. It reads the image as a signal. The fill looks at the source image as shades of gray and builds a tonal map of how dark each point is. Image & Signal is where you tell it which range of grays to care about.
  3. It renders the strokes. It then runs along each pattern path and varies the thickness based on that signal. Dark areas fatten the strokes; light areas thin them out or drop them.

What you end up with are closed vector outlines — the strokes on the canvas, and the ones that go into your export.

Fill types

Every type reads the same image, but each one draws it differently:

  • Linear — straight parallel strokes for engraving and hatching.
  • Wave — parallel wavy strokes for flowing, organic texture.
  • Radial, Circular, and Spiral — strokes arranged around a center point.
  • Halftone — dots or shapes that grow and shrink with the image.
  • Trace — clean vector outlines that follow the image's shapes.
  • Wireframe — a connected network of edges and contours.
  • Scribble, Text, and Fractals — stylized artwork built from sketchy lines, your own text, or space-filling curves.
  • Handmade — strokes you draw or import, distributed across the image in several modes.

Working with fills

The settings worth learning first are Interval, Angle, Stroke Thickness, and Image & Signal. Between them they cover density, direction, weight, and how the fill responds to tone.

Start with a single fill and work on it until the image comes through clearly. Only add more fills or layers once a particular area needs a different look, and use a mask to keep each fill where you want it.