How to turn a photo into a sketch, cartoon, or painting
- Choose a photo.
- Pick an effect: pencil sketch, color sketch, cartoon, oil painting, watercolor, halftone, or dithering.
- Move the sliders and drag the comparison line to check the result against the original.
- Choose a format and press Download full size.
The preview works on a smaller copy so sliders feel fast. Sizes in the sliders scale with the picture, so the saved file looks like the preview.
Questions
Is my photo uploaded?
No. The effects run in a background thread of your browser. The photo never leaves your device.
Why is the saved picture smaller than my original?
Pencil, color sketch, halftone and dithering are saved at full size. Cartoon, oil painting and watercolor are heavy to compute, so very large photos are reduced to 2200 pixels on the long side. The page tells you the saved size.
How do the effects work?
The pencil sketch blends a grey copy with a blurred negative of itself. Cartoon smooths colors while keeping edges, reduces the color count, and draws outlines. Oil painting uses a Kuwahara filter. Watercolor adds soft washes, darker edges and paper grain. Halftone draws dots, and dithering reduces colors with Floyd–Steinberg, Atkinson, or ordered patterns.
Which photos work best?
Portraits and subjects with clear outlines make the best sketches and cartoons. Busy or noisy photos create messier lines, so try a smaller line softness or fewer color levels.
What is dithering used for?
It creates the impression of shades using only a few colors, as in old computer graphics, e-ink screens, and printers. Atkinson keeps highlights bright with higher contrast, Floyd–Steinberg is smoother, and ordered dithering gives a regular pattern.
Credits
Built by OneTooling using standard browser features. No third-party code runs on your data.