Creating printable stencils from photographs

General
1

Hello!

I currently have affinity photo and have been playing around with creating stencils from photographs using threshold, invert, posterize, etc. Was wondering if anyone can suggest an easier/ more time saving method. Or with the current sale, I am open to adding another program or add-on to make this process less frustrating. Any help is appreciated!

Thanks

2

has anyone tried using a threshold adjustment combined with a slight Gaussian blur before converting to curves for cleaner stencil edges? I found that helps reduce jagged lines, especially with higher contrast photos. Curious if others had better luck with different methods or prefer something like vector brushes after tracing?

3

I’ve had the best results using the Threshold adjustment under the Filters menu to simplify the image before tracing. It helps a lot with contrast and defining edges. Then I use the Pen Tool to clean up any rough parts. That combo gives me sharp, clean shapes that work great for printable stencils without needing extra software.