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Image to ASCII Art

Turn any picture into text art you can copy or save.

Image
Drop an image here or click to browse
or paste from clipboard (Ctrl+V) · JPEG, PNG, WebP
Files stay in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.

How to convert an image to ASCII art

  1. Drop in your image

    Drag a JPEG, PNG, or WebP onto the drop zone, click to browse, or paste from your clipboard.

  2. Set the detail

    Pick how many characters wide the art should be and which character set to draw it with.

  3. Invert for dark backgrounds

    Turn on invert when the art will sit on a dark background rather than a light one.

  4. Copy or download

    Copy the text to paste anywhere, or download it as an image to post or share.

Why use this tool

Copy as text or save as an image

The text version pastes into a README, a terminal, a chat message, or a code comment. The image version is what you post where monospace text would break.

Correct proportions

Character cells are taller than they are wide, so the row count is halved to compensate. The result looks like your photo rather than a stretched version of it.

Three character sets

A detailed ramp for photographs, a simple ramp that stays readable at small sizes, and block characters for solid, poster-like results.

Handles transparency

Transparent areas are treated as blank space rather than solid dark, so a cut out subject keeps a clean silhouette.

Nothing leaves your browser

The image is read locally and never uploaded, so nothing you convert is stored anywhere.

About this tool

ASCII art draws a picture out of ordinary text characters. Each character stands in for a small square of the image and is chosen by how bright that square is: dense characters like the at sign for the darkest areas, sparse ones like a full stop for the lightest, and a space where there is nothing at all. Seen from a distance, the pattern of light and dark resolves back into the original picture.

Detail is set by how many characters wide the art is. Sixty is coarse and readable at a glance, a hundred and forty holds recognisable faces and fine texture but needs a wide window to display without wrapping. The detailed character set uses a long ramp of symbols and works best for photographs. The simple set is the one to use if the art will be read at a small size or pasted somewhere the exact characters matter. Block characters give a solid, poster-like result that reads well even when it is small.

Invert flips light and dark, which is what you want when the art will sit on a dark background such as a terminal or a dark themed page. Copy gives you the raw text for a README, a code comment, a chat message, or a signature, and it needs a monospace font to line up. Download gives you the same art as an image for places where text spacing cannot be trusted. For pulling readable words out of a picture instead, use image to text, and for a related blocky effect see pixelate image.

Frequently asked questions

Why does my art look stretched somewhere else?
It needs a monospace font with normal line spacing. In a proportional font the characters have different widths and the picture falls apart. Downloading the image version avoids the problem entirely.
Which character width should I use?
Sixty to eighty for something that fits a normal window or a code comment. A hundred and forty for detail, if the place you are pasting it is wide enough not to wrap the lines.
Is my image uploaded anywhere?
No. The picture is read and converted in your browser, so nothing is sent to a server or stored.
What formats can I convert?
JPEG, PNG, and WebP. Transparent areas are treated as blank space.
Can I use the art commercially?
The art is derived from your image, so whatever rights you hold in the original apply to the result. This tool adds no restrictions of its own.

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