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Pencil, charcoal, ink, colored pencil

Photo to Sketch

Upload a photo and turn it into a pencil sketch, a charcoal drawing, an ink line drawing, a colored pencil drawing or an architect's sketch — same face, same scene.

  • Keeps faces
  • 5 drawing styles
  • 25 free credits
  • No watermark
Pencil portraitPencil portraitSeedream 5.0 Pro edit · 2KInk street sketchInk street sketchSeedream 5.0 Pro edit · 2KArchitect sketchArchitect sketchSeedream 5.0 Pro edit · 2K
Charcoal portraitCharcoal portraitSeedream 5.0 Pro edit · 2KColored pencil puppyColored pencil puppySeedream 5.0 Pro edit · 2K

Quick answer

Updated

Kenerate turns photos into sketches: upload a photo and ask for a graphite pencil sketch, charcoal drawing, black ink line drawing, colored pencil drawing or architectural sketch — the model redraws the same face or scene by hand-drawn rules. Seedream 5.0 Pro (2K, up to 10 reference images) kept faces recognisable in pencil and charcoal in our tests. Flux 2 Dev (free plan, 2048 px) is another option. A free account gets 25 credits.

Best model
Seedream 5.0 Pro edit
Styles tested
5
Input
One photo
Free start
25 credits

Gallery

Photos turned into drawings

Real Seedream 5.0 Pro edits of our own photos.

Same prompt

Photo and sketch

Two originals and their drawings.

  • Same prompt on Original
    OriginalPhoto
  • Same prompt on Pencil
    Pencil2K
  • Same prompt on Original
    OriginalPhoto
  • Same prompt on Charcoal
    Charcoal2K
Prompt
Turn this photo into a realistic graphite pencil sketch on white paper, fine hatching and shading. Keep his face and identity the same.

Tips

Sketches that look hand-drawn

What worked in our tests.

  • Name the tool: graphite pencil, charcoal, ink pen, colored pencils.
  • Describe the paper: white, textured, toned.
  • Ask for hatching or smudged shading — or “no shading” for line art.
  • For people, add “keep the face and identity the same”.
  • Use a photo with clear light and shadow.
  • For coloring pages from a photo, ask for clean outlines only.

How to

How to use the photo to sketch

  1. Step 1: Upload your photo

    In /app/image. Sign in free for 25 credits.

  2. Step 2: Pick Seedream 5.0 Pro

    Flux 2 Dev is the free-plan option.

  3. Step 3: Name the drawing style

    “Turn this into a graphite pencil sketch with fine hatching.”

  4. Step 4: Download

    No watermark.

Models

Models for photo to sketch

What each model is good at. Open any one straight in the generator.

Models for photo to sketch
ModelReference imagesMax sizeGood forOpen
Seedream 5.0 ProByteDanceUp to 102KKeeps faces best in our testsOpen
Flux 2 DevBlack Forest LabsFree planUp to 32048 pxFree planOpen
Nano Banana 2GoogleUp to 141K (square)Many reference imagesOpen

Make your first one — 25 free credits on sign-up.

Sketch my photo

Start free

Start free, top up only when you need to

The same credits work in every Kenerate tool.

  • 25 free credits on sign-up

    Test on your own images before you buy anything.

  • Credits never expire

    One-time packs — use them this week or next year.

  • No subscription, no watermark

    Nothing to cancel. Free results download clean.

  • One balance, every tool

    The same credits work across images, video, voice and 3D.

See credit packs

In depth

Photo to Sketch, explained

What works, what to avoid, and how to pick a model.

Pencil, charcoal or ink

Pencil gives fine detail and hatching, charcoal gives bold contrast and soft smudges, ink gives clean lines. Pick by the mood you want and how the drawing will be used.

Sources

    Tried it? Tell us how it went

    We only publish real, verified reviews — never invented quotes. Send a line about your result (and whether we may quote you), and it will appear here.

    Send a review

    FAQ

    Photo to Sketch questions

    5 questions

    Still stuck?

    A real person answers — usually within a day.

    Email usSketch my photo
    01

    How do I turn a photo into a sketch?

    Upload it, name the drawing style — pencil, charcoal, ink — and ask to keep the face or scene the same.

    02

    Is it free?

    A new account gets 25 free credits to test with, and Flux 2 Dev is on the free plan. Bigger jobs use one-time credit packs that never expire.

    03

    Can I make line art from a photo?

    Yes — ask for a black ink line drawing with no shading, like the street sketch above.

    04

    Does it keep faces?

    In our tests Seedream 5.0 Pro kept faces recognisable in pencil and charcoal when asked to.

    05

    Can I turn a sketch back into a photo?

    Yes — use our sketch to image tool.

    See more of Kenerate AI in your Google resultsAdd kenerateai.com as a preferred source — Google shows more from your preferred sources in Top Stories and AI answers.

    Explore

    Every Kenerate image tool

    Generators, design tools, photo edits, models and comparisons — all in one studio, on one credit balance.

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    More from Kenerate

    Also searched for

    photo to sketch · photo to pencil sketch · image to sketch · turn photo into drawing · photo to line drawing · photo to charcoal · picture to sketch ai · ai sketch from photo · convert photo to drawing · photo to line art

    Written by the Kenerate AI team

    We build and run the Kenerate generator. Every example is a real output of the model named under it; models and presets were checked against the app's code. Last updated 27 September 2026. Corrections: hello@kenerateai.com.

    Sources

      Ready when you are

      Try the photo to sketch

      25 free credits on sign-up. No watermark.

      Sketch my photoSee pricing
      • 25 free credits
      • No watermark
      • Credits never expire