Photo to ASCII
Photo to ASCII art
Convert JPG, PNG, or WebP to ASCII art. Adjust width and contrast, then copy text or export PNG.
Images are read only in browser Canvas and never uploaded
Local source
Turn light and shadow into character density
A sample portrait is ready. Adjust it now or choose your own photo.
Live artwork
Black-and-white ASCII portrait
Expand copyable plain text
Export artworkPNG preserves layout; TXT suits terminals, code comments, and forums.
Methods & limits
It maps brightness to characters; it does not identify objects
The tool reduces the image to the chosen number of columns, then picks characters by pixel brightness. Heavy marks such as @ and # represent shadows; dots and spaces represent highlights.
Monospace characters are usually taller than they are wide, so the row count uses a correction near 0.49. This keeps most portraits and illustrations from stretching vertically after copy.
Luminance Y = 0.2126R + 0.7152G + 0.0722B; character index = Y ÷ 255 × (character count − 1).
FAQ
Photo to ASCII art · FAQ
Which images convert most clearly?
Photos with a clear silhouette, simple background, and strong light-dark contrast work best. More columns help complex scenes but make copied text wider.
Why does the art deform after pasting?
ASCII art depends on a monospace font. Paste into a code block, terminal, or monospace editor and turn off line wrapping.
Is my photo saved?
No. Reading, resizing, grayscale mapping, and export happen in this browser. The site cannot restore the original after refresh.