ASCII art generator — text banners and image conversion
Two tools in one: FIGlet-style text banners in thirty bundled fonts, and image-to-ASCII conversion with custom character ramps, colour and ANSI output. Nothing you type or open is uploaded.
Runs in your browser — your input is not uploaded to ToolsNow.
Up to 120 characters. Long text wraps at the width below.
30 of 30
The font’s own smushing rules
Font credit: Standard by Glenn Chappell & Ian Chai 3/93 -- based on Frank's .sig
Your files are processed locally in your browser and are not uploaded to ToolsNow.
Everything renders in the page — text never leaves your device, and images are decoded by your own browser. Generated output is always displayed as text and never inserted as markup or run, including when you choose the HTML preset; the HTML export escapes every character, and the ANSI export emits colour codes only, so a pasted file cannot move your cursor or clear your terminal. Each bundled FIGlet font carries an explicit permission-to-modify statement in its own header and is redistributed here unmodified. The figlet renderer is MIT licensed. Results depend on the font doing the displaying: art built from Unicode blocks needs a font that actually contains them, and any proportional font destroys the alignment completely. Images up to 50 megapixels (about 8000 × 6000). Larger files are refused rather than risking the tab being closed by the browser.
How to use
- Choose a mode. Text to ASCII builds a banner from a word or short phrase. Image to ASCII converts a picture into characters.
- For text, pick a font. Search the list by name — the preview updates as you type. Width controls where long text wraps.
- For an image, set the output width. Width is measured in characters. Around 100 is a good default; more detail needs more columns and a wider place to paste it.
- Tune the ramp. The character ramp runs from densest to lightest. Try the long ramp for photographs and the high-contrast one for logos and line art.
- Choose an output format. Presets wrap the result for Markdown, GitHub, Discord, HTML or a source-code comment, escaping whatever needs escaping.
- Copy or download. Plain text, HTML, an ANSI file for a terminal, or a PNG rendered in a monospace font.
Questions
Why does my ASCII art look wrong when I paste it somewhere?
Almost always because the destination is not using a monospace font. The whole technique depends on every character occupying an identical cell — in a proportional font an “i” is narrower than an “m” and the image collapses. Use a code block, which is what the Markdown, GitHub and Discord presets produce.
Why is my image upside down in brightness — dark where it should be light?
The ramp runs dark to light, so it assumes dark text on a light background. If you are pasting into a dark-themed terminal or editor, switch Invert on.
Which fonts are included, and can I use the output commercially?
Thirty FIGlet fonts are bundled, chosen by one mechanical rule: the font’s own header must carry an explicit permission-to-modify statement. Of the 328 fonts in the figlet package, 81 carry it. Fonts with no licence text are deliberately excluded, as are several that render trademarked logotypes. The art you generate is yours; the credit line for the font you picked is shown under the font list so you can attribute it if you wish.
What is the difference between the ASCII, Unicode and ANSI options?
ASCII is the original 95 printable characters and works essentially everywhere. Unicode adds block and shading glyphs like ▓ and ░ which give much smoother tone — when the displaying font actually contains them. ANSI is not a character set at all; it is escape codes that tell a terminal to change colour, which is why the ANSI export only makes sense saved to a file and shown with a command like cat.
Is it safe to paste an ANSI file into my terminal?
The files this tool produces are, because it emits only 24-bit colour codes and a reset — nothing that moves the cursor, clears the screen or sets the window title. That is a real category of trick with ANSI files from elsewhere, so it is worth knowing that the restriction is deliberate here.
What does edge enhancement do?
It runs a Sobel edge detector and replaces characters at strong edges with line glyphs — / \ | and — chosen by the direction of the edge. It sharpens line art and logos considerably. On photographs it usually adds noise, which is why it is off by default.
Why is my Discord message rejected?
Discord caps a message at 2000 characters and ASCII art reaches that quickly. The character count under the preview warns you when you are over. Reduce the output width, or send it as a file.