Looking to do a 3d model for a friend that wants to see how much it will cost to cut his picture out of some material wood plastic glass....who knows...

1.  what file type do I try to get him to send me of the artwork?  pdf  jpg.....

2   what program convert that file to a usable sketch so that I can make him a 3d model with out spending 80 hours trying to sketch over a picture in SolidWorks?

I know of the auto trace or sketch picture function in SolidWorks but it does not do a great job for most of the pictures and scans that I have gotten from my friend.  There has to be a better way to convert a hand painted picture to cad than I can think of....

Thanks

David