How to turn an image into ASCII art
- Choose one JPEG, PNG, or WebP image.
- Set the number of text columns, choose a small character set, and optionally invert brightness.
- Generate and inspect the fixed-width preview.
- Copy the text or save a UTF-8 TXT file; spaces and line breaks are preserved.
How the conversion works
The image is sampled to match the requested columns. Each sample is blended over white when transparent, converted to luminance, and mapped from dark to light characters. Rows are reduced to compensate for characters being taller than they are wide.
Example
A dark subject on a light background uses dense characters such as @ or # for the subject and spaces near the background. Invert swaps that mapping.
Limits and checks
- JPEG, PNG, and WebP only; maximum file size 10 MB, maximum decoded image size 16 megapixels, and 20–160 output columns.
- Transparent pixels are blended onto white. Animated images and video are not supported; a browser-decoded static frame is used.
- Text detail depends on source contrast and output width. This is brightness sampling, not AI interpretation or color HTML art.
- The file and output are processed locally and are not uploaded or stored by this page.
- Output is limited to 1,000 rows and 100,000 characters including line breaks. Larger outputs are rejected, not cropped. Reduce the columns or choose a less tall image.
ASCII art FAQ
Why does the preview look narrow or tall?
Text characters are not square, so the generator applies a 0.5 row ratio to reduce vertical stretching.
Why do copied spaces matter?
ASCII art uses exact spacing. Paste it into a monospace editor and preserve line breaks.
Can I convert text or video?
No. This page converts one supported static image and does not provide font art, archives, animation, or video processing.