A method for processing a stroke in an image is provided. The stroke includes a plurality of pixels and the method includes: executing a modified 4-way stroke width transform (SWT) on a mask of the stroke; determining a plurality of certain centerline points among the pixels based on the modified SWT; generating a plurality of polylines within the stroke based on the certain centerline points; determining a plurality of regions of certainty based on the polylines; removing the regions of certainty from the mask and leaving a plurality of regions of uncertainty in the mask; calculating a plurality of joints and end caps for each of the polylines based on the polylines and the regions of uncertainty; generating a completed polyline path by connecting the polylines based on the joints and end caps; and generating a description of the stroke based on the completed polyline path.