So, you just bought your new Silhouette machine and it came with Silhouette Studio. Okay, maybe I’m the only new one here – but maybe you just want to add your own designs without making them directly in the Stuido. Well, I give you the easiest tutorial for that exact action!
I graduated as a graphic designer in 2008 – I learned Adobe Illustrator while in school and love it. I just recently acquired a Silhouette Cameo and already had designs that I wanted to use, saved in Illustrator. So I search online and find tutorials for use with the SD, and another one about using the “trace” option which was just terrible! What is a girl to do?
So, I came to a conclusion that I needed to figure this out or continue my stressful search online through blogs, videos, etc. Here is how you transfer your designs!
Step 1: Create your desired design. Save as an .ai file in case you lose your work.
Step 2: Make sure all of your shapes are with NO FILL, NO STROKE – just paths.
Step 3: Select parts of your design that might be grouped together or have a compound path. Ungroup EVERYTHING – each group must be clicked on to separate individually. Release EVERY compound path.
Step 4: DO NOT HIT SAVE! You will lose your original file. Under file, choose “EXPORT…” Under format, choose: AutoCAD Interchange File (dxf).
Step 5: Open Silhouette Studio. At the top, open your .dxf file. If it opens and some parts are missing, go back to your file to where they are missing and be sure to release compound paths, ungroup, and choose no fill/stroke.
Step 6: Send to Silhouette! That’s right, you’re done! All those dark lines will cut, you just weed out what you don’t need and you’re finished!
I hope this saves someone from endless searching online.
Hodgepodge Padge 