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Photo to Sketch
Turn any photo into a hand-drawn looking pencil sketch in seconds. Pick a style, fine-tune line detail, darkness, shading and grain, compare before and after with the slider, and download the drawing as PNG or JPG.
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How to use the Photo to Sketch
- Add a photo: drop it on the box, paste it, or press Choose photo. A sample image is loaded so you can try the styles straight away.
- Pick a style: Pencil, Soft pencil, Charcoal, Color pencil or Ink.
- Fine-tune: Line detail sets how fine the lines are, Darkness deepens the strokes, Shading adds the photo's tones, and Grain adds a pencil-on-paper texture.
- Compare by dragging the before/after slider over the picture.
- Download your sketch as a PNG or a smaller JPG.
How the pencil sketch filter works
This tool follows the well-known four-step recipe that artists use in photo editors, then adds a few finishing touches:
- Grayscale: each pixel's brightness is computed as 0.299 R + 0.587 G + 0.114 B (the Rec. 601 luma weights).
- Invert: a copy is turned into its negative (255 − gray).
- Blur: the negative is softened with a Gaussian blur. The Line detail slider sets the blur radius.
- Color dodge: the gray image is divided by the inverted blur: result = gray × 255 ÷ (255 − blur). Where the picture is smooth the two layers cancel out to white; at edges they differ, leaving dark pencil-like lines.
Then Darkness applies a gamma curve to deepen the strokes, Shading multiplies in the photo's own tones, Grain adds diagonal graphite texture, and Color blends the original colors back in for a colored-pencil look.
Style guide
| Style | Look | Works best with |
|---|---|---|
| Pencil | Crisp graphite lines, light shading | Portraits, pets, everyday photos |
| Soft pencil | Wide, gentle strokes with soft tonal shading | Faces, landscapes, low-contrast photos |
| Charcoal | Bold, dark strokes with heavy shading and texture | Dramatic portraits, architecture, high-contrast scenes |
| Color pencil | Pencil lines over soft, washed-in color | Flowers, food, travel photos, kids' art |
| Ink | Clean black-and-white line art | Buildings, objects, coloring pages, stencils |
Tips for a better sketch
- Too gray or messy? Lower Grain and Shading, or reduce Line detail so only strong edges remain.
- Lines too faint? Raise Darkness, or switch to Charcoal for bold strokes.
- Make a coloring page: choose Ink, then raise Line detail slightly until the outlines are closed.
- Printing: PNG keeps every pencil detail; JPG is fine for sharing and much smaller.
Frequently asked questions
How does the photo to sketch effect work?
It uses the classic pencil sketch technique: the photo is converted to grayscale, a copy is inverted and blurred, and the two are combined with the color dodge blend mode (gray × 255 ÷ (255 − blurred inverse)). Flat areas cancel out to white paper while edges stay dark, which looks like pencil lines. Extra steps add tonal shading, grain and color.
Is my photo uploaded to a server?
No. All processing happens in your browser with the Canvas API, so your photos never leave your device and the tool even works offline once the page is loaded.
Which photos give the best sketches?
Sharp, well-lit photos with clear subjects and simple backgrounds work best, for example portraits, pets, buildings and close-ups. Very dark or noisy photos produce gray, grainy sketches; brighten them first or lower the Darkness and Grain sliders.
What does the Line detail slider do?
It sets the blur radius used for the effect. A small radius gives thin, fine lines that follow small details; a large radius gives thicker, bolder strokes and more shading around edges.
Can I make a color sketch?
Yes. Choose the Color pencil style or raise the Color slider. The pencil lines are kept and the photo's colors are blended in softly, like colored pencils on paper.
What resolution is the download?
The sketch is processed at the photo's own size up to 2400 pixels on the longest side, which is enough for printing at about 8 inches (20 cm) wide at 300 DPI. Larger photos are scaled down to keep the tool fast.
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