THE QUICK GUIDE

From a photo
to your kind of art.

A few simple choices. Something entirely your own.

1. Start with a clear image

Choose a well-lit photo with a subject that stands out from the background. Faces with visible detail and balanced lighting usually work better than very dark or blurry photos. JPG, PNG, WebP and HEIC/HEIF are supported, up to 20MB per image. HEIC conversion can take longer depending on your device.

2. Frame what matters

Upload one or more photos, then select a thumbnail to crop each one before processing. Drag the crop handles, or use the keyboard crop controls. Keep a little space around the face so important details are not cut off.

3. Pick your expression

Stencil creates a bold, high-contrast image. Threshold changes which details become dark; contrast changes the separation between light and shadow. Vector-style portrait creates multi-tone, posterized artwork with colour presets and fine-tuning controls.

Background removal is optional. When enabled, an AI model downloads and runs on your device. The first download may take a while; your connection and device affect processing time. Your photo is not sent to the model provider.

4. Refine and combine

After processing, adjust the colours and tonal settings without repeating background removal. Multiple images can be arranged side by side, vertically, or in a grid. Use “Show original” to compare an individual result with its source.

5. Export something worth keeping

Set your final crop and pixel dimensions. Stencils export as transparent PNG or JPEG with a white background. Vector-style portraits export as PNG with your selected background or transparency. These are raster images, not editable SVG vector files. Enlarging a small image does not restore missing detail.

The preview background is for viewing only. Check the export settings to choose the background included in the downloaded artwork.

A note for makers

Use your artwork in posters, memorial programmes, gifts, and personal projects. A printable stencil image is not automatically a cut-ready template: isolated shapes may need bridges, and cutting equipment may require a separate vector-tracing step.