Photo to pencil sketch
Turn any photo into a pencil sketch or a coloured sketch with adjustable line weight. Locally, no upload.
How a photo becomes a sketch
The sketch effect is built from classic photo-editing steps. The picture is turned to grayscale, inverted, blurred and then blended back over the original with a colour-dodge blend. Flat areas turn white, while edges where brightness changes quickly stay as dark strokes — which is exactly what the lines of a pencil drawing look like.
Because the effect is calculated from the picture itself, it needs no artificial intelligence and no server. It runs as pixel maths in your browser and updates live as you move the sliders.
Line weight and contrast
The line-weight slider sets how wide the blur is. A small value gives fine, detailed lines and works well for portraits; a large value gives bold, broad strokes that suit landscapes and buildings. The contrast slider darkens or lightens the strokes: raise it for a strong charcoal look, lower it for a soft, light pencil.
Switch to colour sketch to multiply the lines with the original colours, which gives a coloured-pencil style instead of black and white.
Photos that work best
Pictures with clear contrast and a calm background give the cleanest sketches: portraits, pets, buildings and product shots. Very dark, noisy or low-resolution photos produce grainy lines. For prints, use the largest source image you have; the result keeps the pixel size of the original up to about 1,800 pixels on the long side.
Nothing is uploaded — your photo stays on your device.
Privacy by design
All processing happens inside your browser. Your files never reach a server — there is nothing to store, transmit or share.
Learn more in our privacy policyFrequently asked questions
Load the photo; the sketch appears immediately. Adjust the line weight and contrast, then download the PNG.
Yes. Choose colour sketch for a coloured-pencil look.
No. It uses a classic blend of grayscale, invert, blur and colour dodge, calculated on your device.
Clear, well-lit pictures with good contrast, such as portraits, pets and buildings.
No. Everything runs in your browser.