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Vector artwork support

Intro​

Cavalry supports importing and exporting SVG artwork meaning it's possible to copy/paste SVG code from other vector apps like Adobe Illustrator, Affinity Designer and Figma.

Import​

As well as importing SVG as an Asset, .svg files can be imported and converted when dragging or pasting them into the Viewport.

Dragging an SVG file from the Assets Window or file system into the Viewport or pasting SVG data via the clipboard will invoke a pop-up dialogue with two options:

  • Asset Layer - Create an SVG layer and connect the .svg asset to the File attribute. If the .svg asset does not already exist in the Assets Window it will be added.
  • Separate Layers - Separate the .svg asset into individual layers, convert each one into an Editable Shape and set the Fill and Stroke to match.
info

Hold Option/Alt when dragging an SVG asset from the Assets Window or file system into the Viewport or Scene Tree to bypass the modal and Separate Layers.

Copy and Paste SVG data​

It's possible to copy/paste SVG code from other vector apps like Adobe Illustrator, Affinity Designer and Figma.

ApplicationInstructions
Adobe IllustratorEdit > Copy (Cmd/Ctrl + C)
FigmaRight click on a path and select Copy/Paste > Copy as SVG.
Serif Affinity DesignerEdit > Copy (Cmd/Ctrl + C). Ensure Copy Items as SVG is checked in Preferences > General.

Export​

Cavalry Compositions can be rendered to SVG via the Render Manager or via the File > Render Current Frame to SVG... menu item.

Cavalry Shapes can also be copied to the clipboard. To copy a Shape to the clipboard as SVG, select a Shape in the Viewport and right click > Copy as SVG.

Multiple Shapes

To copy multiple Shapes to the clipboard as SVG data, add them to a Group and then copy the Group. Note that the Group's Blending and Opacity Mode must be set to Individual Shapes.

caution

Support for svg can be a little mixed as it is not a fully featured format. For example, the SVG format has no native support for Inner or Outer Stroke and, as a consequence, different apps have different ways of working around this problem. For this reason parity may not be 100% when exchanging files between applications.

Known issues:

  • Clipping Paths/Masks/Compound Shapes are not currently supported.
  • Gradients are not supported.
  • Opacity is not supported.
  • Blend Modes are not supported.
  • Text is converted to a mesh (it is neither exported or imported as editable Text).