Convert any photo into a realistic hand-drawn pencil sketch. Adjust intensity, brightness and contrast. Free, instant, no upload.
The sketch effect converts your photo to grayscale using luminance weighting (0.299R + 0.587G + 0.114B), then inverts it and applies a multi-pass Gaussian blur. The blurred-inverted layer is composited onto the grayscale original using the color-dodge blend mode — the same technique used in professional digital art workflows to simulate pencil hatching.
The Sketch Intensity slider controls blur radius: low values produce tight, sharp lines; high values give soft, loose hatching. Brightness and contrast fine-tune the final tonal balance. Output is a full-resolution PNG, watermark-free.
Portraits work beautifully — face edges and hair become natural pencil lines. Try intensity 3–4 for portraits, 1–2 for architecture or technical subjects. Increase contrast to 1.6–2.0 for bold, high-key drawings. Lower intensity with high brightness gives a soft, light-handed pencil feel.
All processing runs locally in your browser via the Canvas API. Photos never leave your device. Download your sketch as PNG at full resolution, ready to print or share.