PicTexter 8.0.0.178

PicTexter is a neat, compact free tool that you can use to transform your images and digital photographs into character-based renditions of the objects and colors depicted in those images. The transformation process takes no longer than a few seconds, and you can choose to save the resulting file as an image, a plain text file, or an HTML document.

PicTexter requires only a couple of seconds to produce a plain text version of any of your images. Using a whole range of ASCII characters, it will build a black-and-white representation of the complete picture. The result can be saved as TXT or as a BMP, JPG, GIF, PNG, TGA, or TIF file. For better results, I advise you to move from plain-text mode to full-color HTML mode. Here, you can choose between one-character and multi-character representations. The former will be produced using the character of your choice, while the latter require you to upload a TXT file, from which PicTexter will take the necessary characters to “draw” your image. You can also select the “tone” of the HTML image selecting your favorite background color.

The resulting representations vary widely both in quality and in the level of similitude between input and output images (especially when using the black-and-white, plain-text mode). As a general rule, the more contrast between the subject and the background, between flat and textured surfaces, the higher the quality of the output image will be. All in all, the program tries to do a good job with any image you feed it with, but you need to accept that some images will always produce disappointing results, regardless of the quality of the tool used.