Turn a photo into a sketch
One “strength” slider, and you are done. Runs locally, nothing is uploaded.
Turning a photo into line work is usually not about «looking like a sketch» but about what's left once colour and shading are gone — a base for illustration, a colouring page for a child, or a way to make the structure show in a photo whose composition was unremarkable.
This page has a single slider: “Strength”, 10 to 100 — the higher it goes, the more of the photo's grey shading is washed out and the closer you get to line art on white; lower values keep more of the original shading — and the right side updates as you drag. To pick a style, press “Pro editor” for the filter gallery in the full editor, where the nine each have their own temperament: Colored Pencil keeps a little of the original colour, with “Line spacing” 2–16 deciding how dense the lines are; Graphic Pen gives only two-colour hard lines (black and white by default; the colours follow the foreground and background colours), “Stroke spacing” 2–20; Photocopy makes that high-contrast copier look, with “Detail” 1–12 and “Darkness” 0–100; Charcoal works its weight through “Charcoal amount” 0.5–3. There are also Chalk & Charcoal, Colored chalk (pastel), Sumi-e, Crosshatch (“Line spacing” 2–20) and Ink Outlines. For a clean line drawing head towards Graphic Pen; for a hand-drawn feel use Charcoal.
Key features
One slider gives you the drawing
Drag “strength”, watch the right side, download when it fits — no need to learn what separates the nine styles first.
The nine styles are in the editor
Colored Pencil, Graphic Pen, Photocopy, Charcoal, Chalk & Charcoal, Colored chalk (pastel), Sumi-e, Crosshatch and Ink Outlines — in the filter gallery of the full editor.
Line spacing adjustable (editor)
Coloured pencil hatch spacing 2–16, graphic pen stroke spacing 2–20, photocopy's detail and darkness — all on the gallery side.
Runs locally
The image is never uploaded. Close the tab and nothing is left.
How to use
- 1 Add a photoDrag it into the box, or press Ctrl+V to paste.
- 2 Drag “Strength”10 to 100 — the higher, the closer to line art on white, with more of the shading washed out; the result shows on the right.
- 3 For styles, go proThe nine styles are in the filter gallery of the full editor; Colored Pencil, Graphic Pen and Crosshatch let you set line spacing.
- 4 DownloadSave it, or keep going from the “Take this further” row.
FAQ
- How many sketch styles are there?
- This page has only a “strength” slider and no styles. The filter gallery in the full editor has nine: Colored Pencil, Graphic Pen, Photocopy, Charcoal, Chalk & Charcoal, Colored chalk (pastel), Sumi-e, Crosshatch and Ink Outlines. The first four are the everyday ones; the rest lean artistic.
- The lines are too dense or too sparse — what now?
- This page's “Strength” controls how much of the original shading is washed out (the higher, the closer to line art on white); it doesn't set line density. To tune density per style, go to the filter gallery in the full editor — Colored Pencil takes “Line spacing” 2–16, Graphic Pen “Stroke spacing” 2–20, Crosshatch “Line spacing” 2–20 (the larger the sparser), Charcoal takes “Charcoal amount” 0.5–3, and Photocopy has “Detail” 1–12 and “Darkness” 0–100.
- Is this AI-generated?
- No. It is a filter algorithm that turns pixels into lines by fixed rules; the people and objects in the frame are never altered and nothing is invented. For AI repainting, see the AI tools.
- Is it free? Is my image uploaded?
- Free, no sign-up, no usage limit. Nothing is uploaded either — it all runs in your own browser.
Try Turn a photo into a sketch now
No install · no sign-up · local stays local · free AI credits every day