Email & Newsletter Illustrations
Email is the one channel where you cannot use SVG. Most clients — Outlook above all — will not render it, so email art ships as PNG. That does not make vector pointless; it makes it the source of truth. You author once as vector and export the raster sizes each campaign needs, instead of maintaining a folder of one-off images nobody can edit.
Generate your recurring email scenes as a set: welcome, receipt, password reset, re-engagement, and the newsletter header treatment. Keep them in one project so every campaign draws from the same visual family. Export PNG at 2× the display width for retina inboxes, keep the file under about 100KB so it loads before the reader scrolls past, and always write real alt text — a meaningful share of recipients see it before they see the image.
Email specs
| Format | PNG or JPG — SVG is not reliably supported in email clients, Outlook especially |
|---|---|
| Width | Export at 1200px for a 600px content column so it stays sharp on retina |
| File size | Under ~100KB per image; heavy emails get clipped by Gmail at 102KB of HTML |
| Alt text | Required — many clients block images by default, and the alt text is the whole message until the reader unblocks |
Styles that fit
Each of these presets is tuned for full-scene illustration, not icon glyphs. Pick one to open the generator with it already selected — suggested canvas for this job is 16:9.
Example prompts
Describe the whole set in one prompt — generating the scenes together is what keeps them looking like one family.
How the illustration flow works
- 1
Pick the job
Open the Illustrations tab in the generator and choose the use case — email & newsletter illustrations maps to a tuned prompt template rather than a blank box.
- 2
Describe the scene
Give the product context and, optionally, the specific scene. Suggestions appear as you type, and you can attach up to three of your own illustrations as style references.
- 3
Review before you commit
Generation returns a preview first. Keep the ones that work, generate more into the same batch, and only then import — credits are spent on generation, not on browsing.
- 4
Vectorize and refine
Accepted scenes are traced to real SVG paths and land in a project. Open any one in the studio to clean nodes, recolor fills, or simplify paths.
- 5
Expand later, still matching
When you need scene number nine, expand the same project. Your existing illustrations become the style reference, so the new ones match instead of drifting.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use SVG in email?+
Not reliably. Outlook and several other clients will not render SVG at all. Author in vector for editability and consistency, then export PNG for the actual send — one source, many campaigns.
What size should email illustrations be?+
Export at roughly double your content column width — 1200px wide for a 600px column — so the image is sharp on high-density displays, then compress to stay under about 100KB.
Related illustration guides
Keep reading
Make your email & newsletter illustrations
Describe the scenes, pick a style, and get a matched set as editable SVG. Free to start, no credit card required.
Open the illustration generator