Image to ASCII Art
Convert an image into ASCII art 40 to 200 characters wide. Choose a character set, invert or color it, then copy the text or download it as .txt or PNG.
Drop your image here
Supports JPG, PNG, WebP, GIF
Max 1 file, up to 50.0 MB each
About the Image to ASCII Art
ASCII art draws a picture with text characters. This converter shrinks your image to a grid with one cell per character, measures the brightness of each cell and replaces it with a character from the chosen set: dense characters such as @ and # for bright cells, sparse ones such as dots and spaces for dark cells. Characters in monospaced fonts are roughly twice as tall as they are wide, so the number of rows is halved to keep the picture’s proportions.
That default mapping is meant for light text on a dark background, like the green-on-black preview. If you will paste the art somewhere with dark text on a white background, such as a document, an email or a README, tick Invert brightness first; otherwise the picture looks like a photographic negative.
Simple, high-contrast images give the clearest results: logos, silhouettes and portraits against a plain background. A busy photo at 60 characters wide tends to become hard to read, so give it more width or crop it to the subject with the Image Crop Tool before converting.
Colored output tints each character with the color of its cell, both in the on-screen preview and in the PNG download. The .txt file and the copied text are plain characters without color. The Blocks set uses the Unicode shading characters ░▒▓█, so strictly speaking it isn’t ASCII and needs a font that includes them. To publish the result in a README, paste it into a fenced code block, for example in the Markdown Editor.
How to use the Image to ASCII Art
- 1
Add a picture
Drop a JPG, PNG, WebP or GIF onto the drop area or click Browse Files.
- 2
Choose width and characters
Set Width between 40 and 200 characters and pick a Character Set: Standard, Detailed, Blocks or Simple.
- 3
Set the options
Tick Invert brightness for dark text on a light background, and Colored output for a colored preview and PNG.
- 4
Generate
Click Generate ASCII Art. Changing the width, character set or inversion clears the result so you can generate again.
- 5
Copy or download
Use the copy button in the corner of the preview, or click Download .txt or Download .png.
What it can do
Four character sets
Standard (10 characters), Detailed (70 for finer shading), Simple (7) and Unicode Blocks.
Proportion correction
Rows are halved to compensate for characters being taller than they are wide.
Invert brightness
Flips the mapping for dark-on-light display.
Color mode
Each character takes the color of its part of the image in the preview and PNG.
Three ways out
Copy the text, download a .txt file, or download a PNG drawn on a dark background.
Limitations
- Fine detail, small text and low-contrast photos don’t survive being reduced to 40–200 characters.
- Color appears only in the preview and the PNG; text output is plain.
- Transparent areas are treated as black, so they become spaces (or dense characters when inverted).
- Animated GIFs are converted from a single frame.
- The Blocks set may not display correctly in older terminals or fonts without those characters.
Privacy
The image is processed in your browser; neither the picture nor the generated text is sent to FlexyPdf’s servers.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my ASCII art look like a negative?
By default, bright areas get dense characters, which suits light text on a dark background. On a white page the tones appear reversed. Tick Invert brightness and generate again.
Which width should I choose?
Around 80 characters fits a classic terminal window and most code comments. For more detail use 120–200, but long lines may wrap in chat apps and editors, which breaks the picture.
Why does the art look squashed when I paste it?
The converter assumes a monospaced font in which characters are about twice as tall as they are wide. In a proportional font or with extra line spacing, the shape is distorted. Paste it into a code block or set a monospaced font.
Can I keep the colors in the text file?
No. Plain text can’t store color, so the .txt file and copied text contain characters only. Download the PNG to keep a colored version.
What’s the difference between the character sets?
Standard uses 10 characters and gives bold, clean shapes. Detailed uses 70 for smoother gradients. Simple uses 7 for a graphic look. Blocks uses Unicode shading characters for a pixel-art style.
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