Image to ASCII Art

Selected file contents are processed in your browser without being sent to an application upload endpoint. Loading the site, fonts or processing libraries may still require network requests.

The image is divided into a grid of cells. Each cell's average brightness is computed (using the Rec.601 luminance formula), auto-leveled across the full range, and mapped to a character: dense characters like @ for dark areas, sparse ones like. for bright areas.

ASCII art requires a monospaced font such as Consolas, Menlo, or Courier New. In proportional fonts the characters have different widths and the picture falls apart. Also make sure line wrapping is off.

Standard (15 levels) is the classic all-purpose ramp. Detailed uses 70 brightness levels for smoother gradients. Blocks uses shading characters (█▓▒░) that look great for photos. Minimal uses just 4 characters for a bold, poster-like effect.

Yes. Type any characters into the custom field, ordered from dense to sparse. While the field is non-empty it overrides the selected preset; clear it to switch back.

The default mapping assumes you will view the art on a dark background. If you plan to paste it into a white page or light-themed editor, enable invert so dark areas of the photo stay dark.

The copied text and the.txt download are always plain characters without color. To keep the colors, download the PNG rendering, which paints every character in its original image color.

Files up to 20 MB are accepted, and images larger than 4096 pixels on a side are automatically downsampled before conversion — plenty of resolution for a maximum output width of 300 characters.