Photo to line drawing

Turn a photo into a line drawing

Keep the subject, lose the background. Your photo redrawn as clean black lines on white — ready to trace, transfer or practice from.

Try it with your photo ↓
Original photo
Original photo
Photo to line drawing
Line drawing

Try it with your photo

Keep the subject, lose the background. Your photo redrawn as clean black lines on white — ready to trace, transfer or practice from.

Checking your trial…

Examples

Good and weak results alike, exactly as they came out.

Original photoLine drawing: Cat on a street: the background was removed
Cat on a street: the background was removed
Original photoLine drawing: Person at a café (AI-generated photo): the table was kept
Person at a café (AI-generated photo): the table was kept
Original photoLine drawing: Husky on a blanket: stray lines from the background
Husky on a blanket: stray lines from the background

How to make one

  1. 1Pick a photo where the subject stands out from a plain background.
  2. 2Press “Create line drawing” and wait while it draws.
  3. 3Save the image, or press Print to print just the drawing, fitted to your paper.

Tips for a better result

  • Plain backgrounds give the cleanest outlines; busy ones can leave stray lines.
  • One clear subject works better than a crowd.
  • If you trace someone else’s photo or artwork to publish or sell, check the rights first.

A clean outline to trace, transfer or make with

Only the lines that define the shape remain. Trace it on a light box, transfer it to fabric for embroidery, use it as a craft pattern, or study it as a drawing reference.

You get an image (WebP), not an editable SVG or a cutting file. Busy backgrounds can leave stray lines, as in the husky example. Fur patterns and shading are not drawn. Line drawings are a web trial only; the AI Gahaku app does not offer them yet.

Frequently asked questions

Can I try it for free?
Try one image in this browser without an account. The allowance is shared across AI Gahaku pages.
Can I get an SVG for Cricut or laser engraving?
No. You get a raster image. To cut or engrave it, convert it with a vector tracing tool (for example, Trace Bitmap in Inkscape) and check the paths before cutting.
Does it remove the background?
It draws the main subject only. With busy backgrounds, parts can remain or stray lines can appear. Photos with a plain background work best.
How is this different from a coloring page?
A coloring page simplifies shapes into large areas for kids and keeps a few background shapes. A line drawing traces the main subject with thin lines and leaves the background white.
What happens to my photo?
Pressing Create sends the photo to AI Gahaku and its processing providers. Photos and results may be retained for quality review and troubleshooting. See the Privacy Policy.

More photos. More possibilities.

The app does not make this line drawing, but it has more ways to turn a photo into art, including pencil and ink sketches.

Scan with your phone to open the store

Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play
Explore more things to create →

Example sources: cat and dog photos from Unsplash and a fictional, AI-generated photo of a person. Each was converted once, with no retries, selection or retouching. Your results will vary. Example record