ASCII Art Generator
Turn any picture into character art, with text and coloured PNG export.
A Picture Made Of Characters
ASCII art turns an image into text by replacing each block of pixels with a character of roughly the same darkness. A dense character like @ stands for a dark area, a full stop for a light one, and from a distance the pattern reads as a picture.
It began as a way to print images on line printers that could only print letters, and it survives because text goes places images cannot: a terminal, a commit message, a README, a plain-text email signature.
Key features
- Five character sets — from the classic ramp through solid blocks to binary ones and zeros.
- Corrects for character shape — cells are about twice as tall as they are wide, so the sampling grid is stretched to match.
- Contrast control — pushes the mid-tones apart, which is usually what a flat-looking result needs.
- Coloured PNG export — each character drawn in the colour of the pixels it replaced.
- Transparency reads as empty — a cut-out subject stays cut out rather than filling with dark characters.
This tool runs entirely inside your browser using native Web APIs. Your files and text are never uploaded to a server, never logged and never shared with third parties.
How to use: ASCII Art Generator
- Choose an image
Anything the browser can open. High-contrast pictures with a clear subject work best. - Set the width
In characters. Wider means more detail and a longer line — check where it will be pasted. - Adjust contrast and character set
Solid blocks give a photographic look; the classic ramp looks like a terminal. - Copy or download
Plain text for pasting, or a PNG when the destination cannot show monospaced text.
Technical specifications
| Processing location | Entirely in your browser — no server round trip |
|---|---|
| Data uploaded | None. Files and text never leave your device |
| Price | Free — no account, no trial, no usage cap |
| Category | Media |
| Works offline | Yes, once the page has loaded |
| Browser support | Chrome 90+, Edge 90+, Firefox 90+, Safari 15+ |
| Interface languages | English, 中文, हिन्दी, Español, العربية |
Frequently asked questions
Why does my art look squashed somewhere else?
It is being displayed in a proportional font. ASCII art only works in a monospaced font, where every character is the same width — in anything else the columns no longer line up. Wrap it in a code block, or use the PNG export where you cannot control the font.
What width should I use?
It depends where it is going. A terminal is usually 80 characters, a README renders comfortably around 100, and a chat message wraps badly beyond about 60. Wider gives more detail but only if nothing wraps the lines.
Why do some pictures come out as a grey mush?
Because there are only a handful of brightness levels available, and a photo with most of its tones in the middle maps them all to the same two or three characters. Raise the contrast, or start from a picture with a clear light subject against a dark background.
Is the coloured PNG still ASCII art?
Purists would say no — the point of the form is that it is text. It is included because coloured character art reproduces well on platforms that strip formatting or refuse monospace, and because it looks good. The plain text export is there for the purist.