Convert images to ASCII art in your browser
📷 Drop an image here or click to upload
Convert any image to ASCII art directly in your browser. Upload a photo, adjust the output width and character set, and get instant ASCII art. Supports standard, simple, and block character sets. Everything runs client-side — your images never leave your device.
Converting images to ASCII art transforms photographs and graphics into text-based representations using characters of varying density. Darker areas use dense characters (@, #, %) while lighter areas use sparse ones (., :, space). This technique dates back to the 1960s when early computers had no graphics capability — line printers could only output text, so ASCII art was the only visual medium. Today it's used for terminal art, README decorations, creative projects, and nostalgic aesthetics. This converter analyzes pixel brightness values and maps them to characters, creating a text representation that captures the essence of the original image. Output width determines detail level — more characters per line means finer detail.
The image is divided into a grid. Each cell's average brightness is calculated and mapped to a character based on density. Dark pixels become dense characters like @ or #, light pixels become spaces or dots.
High contrast images with clear subjects work best. Portraits, logos, and silhouettes convert well. Detailed landscapes or low-contrast photos may look muddy. Try increasing contrast before converting.
80 characters matches standard terminal width. 120-160 characters provides more detail on wide screens. For social media or code comments, keep it under 80 to avoid wrapping.
This tool produces monochrome ASCII. Color ASCII art uses ANSI escape codes (for terminals) or HTML spans (for web). The technique is the same but maps brightness to both character and color.
Always use a monospace font (Courier, Consolas, Fira Code). Proportional fonts break the alignment, making the art unrecognizable. In HTML, wrap in
tags.