Yes. You can convert a JPG or PNG photo to ASCII. The tool also accepts JPEG, WebP, GIF, AVIF, BMP, TIFF and HEIC/HEIF. Upload one file up to 20 MB. Each side of the source image must be no more than 8192 pixels; a small compressed file can still exceed that limit.
Image to ASCII Art Converter
Use this free image to ASCII converter to turn a photo into character art. Download a PNG, or choose TXT to copy the characters and save the text.
How to convert an image to ASCII art
1
Choose an image and wait for the upload
Select one photo, logo or illustration. Selection starts the upload; wait for it to finish before starting the conversion.
2
Set the number of characters per line and the style
Start with the default 100 characters per line and Standard character set. Increasing this number allows more detail and creates longer lines. Try Simple or Detailed for a different character texture.
3
Choose PNG or TXT
PNG is selected by default for black characters on white. Choose TXT for editable characters and the Copy text button. Leave Invert tones off for your first result.
4
Convert and save the result
Click Convert to ASCII to start the conversion. Inspect the completed result and download the file. TXT results also let you copy the text. Change a setting and convert again to compare results.
Characters per line and character sets
This ASCII image generator samples a grayscale version of your picture and chooses characters by brightness. With Invert tones off, dense symbols represent darker areas; spaces and lighter symbols represent brighter areas.
Choose from 20 to 800 characters per line. The row count accounts for the image proportions and the taller shape of a character cell. More columns can reveal smaller features, but need more display space.
Standard
- What changes
- Ten characters, from a space through punctuation to dense symbols such as @.
- When to try it
- A starting point for photos and pictures with both outlines and shading.
Simple
- What changes
- Six characters, giving the brightness fewer steps to choose from.
- When to try it
- Try it when you want a simpler texture with fewer different symbols.
Detailed
- What changes
- A longer sequence of letters, numbers and symbols for more brightness steps.
- When to try it
- Try it for gradual shading; extra symbols cannot recover details absent from the source.
| Character set | What changes | When to try it |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | Ten characters, from a space through punctuation to dense symbols such as @. | A starting point for photos and pictures with both outlines and shading. |
| Simple | Six characters, giving the brightness fewer steps to choose from. | Try it when you want a simpler texture with fewer different symbols. |
| Detailed | A longer sequence of letters, numbers and symbols for more brightness steps. | Try it for gradual shading; extra symbols cannot recover details absent from the source. |
All three sets use printable characters from the ASCII character table. Compare their textures using the same number of characters per line before increasing it.
PNG or TXT: choose how to save your ASCII art
Both formats use the same character grid. PNG fixes the appearance as an image; TXT saves the characters and line breaks so you can paste or edit them.
File contents
- PNG
- A rendered image of the characters.
- TXT
- Plain text containing characters, spaces and line breaks.
Appearance
- PNG
- Black text on white, with the font and spacing fixed.
- TXT
- Font, text color and spacing depend on where you open or paste it.
Editing
- PNG
- Open it in an image editor to work with the rendered picture.
- TXT
- Edit individual characters in a text editor.
Result controls
- PNG
- Download the PNG.
- TXT
- Copy text or download the TXT file.
| Detail | PNG | TXT |
|---|---|---|
| File contents | A rendered image of the characters. | Plain text containing characters, spaces and line breaks. |
| Appearance | Black text on white, with the font and spacing fixed. | Font, text color and spacing depend on where you open or paste it. |
| Editing | Open it in an image editor to work with the rendered picture. | Edit individual characters in a text editor. |
| Result controls | Download the PNG. | Copy text or download the TXT file. |
Each conversion produces one file in the selected format. If you need both PNG and TXT, choose the other format and convert the same uploaded image again.
Make a photo easier to recognize as ASCII art
Start with a clear subject that fills much of the frame. Small faces, fine lettering and busy backgrounds can merge into character texture. Use Image Cropper to remove empty space or distracting edges, then try different character counts per line with the same character set.
Use Image Resizer if the source exceeds the pixel-dimension limit. Resizing both sides proportionally fixes that limit, but keeps the aspect ratio. The calculated ASCII row count stays the same at a fixed number of characters per line.
Questions about converting a picture to ASCII
It recreates the picture with characters chosen by brightness. To recognize words in a screenshot, scan or photograph, use Image to Text, which performs OCR.
You can upload a GIF, but only its first frame is converted. Multi-page images also use only the first page. The result is one still PNG or one TXT file.
This converter creates monochrome ASCII art from image brightness. The PNG contains black characters on white. TXT contains plain characters; any text or background colors come from the application displaying it.
Before conversion, the image is placed on a white background. Fully transparent pixels become white; partially transparent pixels blend with white according to their opacity. The exported PNG has an opaque white background.
Use a monospace font and preserve every space and line break. Automatic line wrapping, proportional fonts and different line heights can change the layout. Choose PNG if you need to share a fixed appearance.
It reverses the brightness mapping: bright source areas receive denser characters, while dark areas receive lighter characters or spaces. It changes the character pattern. A PNG still has black text on a white background.
The output is limited to 1000 rows and 800000 character cells, excluding line breaks. An image that is very tall relative to its width can exceed the row limit even when the uploaded file is small. Reduce the number of characters per line or crop the image to make it less tall.
Turn your picture into ASCII art
Choose an image, set the number of characters per line and save the result as PNG or TXT.