Drop your image here!
Create
Learn
Support
Dashboard Get Started
Illustration of photo editing interface overlapping with an image icon, shown in cyan and blue tones.
Photo Editor

Photo effects and tools for enhancing your photos

Illustration of collage maker interface showing a cursor selecting an image within a grid layout, depicted in pink and blue tones.
Collage Maker

Combine multiple photos into one with a grid layout

Illustration of a multi-panel graphic design interface with overlapping layouts, including text blocks and an image preview, depicted in yellow and blue tones.
Graphic Designer

Templates for creating banners, flyers, cards, & more

Illustration of a photo editing interface with icons for adjusting settings, cropping, adding text, and applying effects, shown in purple tones.
Getting Started

Master the basics of BeFunky

Illustration of a dashboard with a grid of images and text lists, depicted in cyan and blue tones.
Features

Learn what all you can do with BeFunky

Graphic for BeFunky Plus upgrade featuring a circular badge with a star surrounded by sparkles, in pink and blue tones.
BeFunky Plus

Unlock our most powerful features

Illustration showing a camera, a video player, a pencil, and text, indicating multimedia and editing tools, in yellow tones.
Learn BeFunky

Photo editing and design tips and techniques

Diagram of step by step process flow with arrows connecting video, image, and text elements, in pink and blue tones.
Tutorials

Step-by-step guides for all our features

Illustration of a lightbulb surrounded by images and a heart, representing creativity and inspiration, in yellow tones.
Inspiration

Projects to inspire your creativity

Graphic showing a speech bubble with a plus sign and sparkles, indicating new features, in cyan tones.
What's New

Updates about our new features

Account Photos Help / Support
Photo Editor Collage Maker Graphic Designer
Getting Started Features BeFunky Plus Learn Tutorials Inspiration What's New
Support Get Started

Home > Photo Editor > Photo To Sketch

Turn Your Photo Into a Sketch Instantly

Easily turn your photo into a sketch with pencil, pen, or graphic novel styles

or drop a file

A side-by-side view of two mobile phones displaying the BeFunky app, showcasing the photo-to-sketch conversion tool with different sketch styles.
A black-and-white sketch-style portrait of a man, with a smaller circular version of the original photo in color to showcase a before-and-after comparison. A colored sketch-style portrait of a woman with long dark hair standing among tall green plants, showcasing a vibrant and detailed color sketch effect. A colored sketch of a horse with a detailed mane against a countryside background, demonstrating an artistic and textured sketch effect. A blue monochrome sketch of a winter landscape featuring snowy mountains, a log cabin, and pine trees, created using a fine-line pen art sketch style. A black-and-white sketch portrait of a couple, showcasing the tool's ability to create detailed and personalized sketches from photos.

Quickly Turn Your Photos Into Sketches

From portraits to pets, BeFunky's photo-to-sketch effects make it easy to turn your photos into expressive sketches. First introduced in 2007, our Artsy effects have been a cornerstone of creativity for millions of users. Each sketch style is unique to BeFunky and designed in-house by our team of designers, drawing inspiration from traditional drawing techniques. Whether you want the fine detail of pencil shading, the bold impact of ink, or the stylized flair of a graphic novel, our effects capture the unique character of your images. You’ll find our Sketch effects in the Artsy section of the Photo Editor, available exclusively to BeFunky Plus subscribers.

or drop a file

Four side-by-side images of a cathedral, showcasing different sketch styles using BeFunky's photo-to-sketch tool: the original color photo, a blue fine-line pen art sketch, a sepia-toned sketch, and a black-and-white line drawing, illustrating various artistic effects.

Find The Perfect Sketch Effect For Any Photo

Explore styles ranging from pencil and ink to crayon and graphic novel.

A bold and vibrant illustration of a man in a cityscape, created using BeFunky's Graphic Novel sketch tool to resemble a comic book panel.

Graphic Novel

Transform your photos into bold, illustrated panels ideal for storytelling projects, custom posters, or adding a dramatic illustrated look to any image.

A black-and-white ink-style sketch of a tiger resting in tall grass, created using BeFunky's Inkify sketch tool for a timeless ink art effect.

Inkify

Apply timeless ink art styles to give your images a hand-drawn feel, perfect for portraits, travel photography, and other memories that need artistic depth.

A detailed black-and-white portrait of a man surrounded by tools, created using BeFunky's Cross Hatch sketch tool for an artistic depth effect.

Cross Hatch

Add texture and detail with fine cross-hatched lines that replicate a traditional sketching method. Great for portraits and fine art projects where detail and depth matter.

A monochrome pen-style sketch of a person against a floral background, created using BeFunky's Pen Art sketch tool for intricate pen-like details.

Pen Art

Create intricate pen-style sketches that are perfect for portraits, DIY greeting cards, or projects that need clean, hand-drawn detail.

A pencil sketch of intricate domed architecture, created using BeFunky's Sketcher sketch tool for an expressive and detailed pencil sketch.

Sketcher

Transform portraits, pet photos, and architecture into expressive pencil sketches with natural shading and definition, giving each image an authentic hand-drawn finish

A translucent ink-style portrait of a person with curly hair, created using BeFunky's Ink Wash sketch tool for soft brushstroke effects.

Ink Wash

Soften details with translucent brushstrokes inspired by classic ink wash painting, ideal for landscapes, portraits, or fine art prints.

A detailed and colorful sketch of daisies, created using BeFunky's Colored Pencil sketch tool to mimic natural colored pencil textures.

Colored Pencil

Replicate a hand-drawn feel with natural pencil shading and vivid color, perfect for nature photography, creative illustrations, or artistic keepsakes.

A vibrant crayon-style drawing of a woman with flowing hair against a colorful background, created using BeFunky's Crayon sketch tool for a classic crayon effect.

Crayon

Add a playful, nostalgic touch to your images that mimics classic crayon art. It’s great for portraits, children’s artwork, or designs that call for a bold and colorful look.

Our Most Realistic Photo to Sketch Effects

Our AI-powered GFX Photo to Sketch effects are designed to transform your photos into precise, true-to-life sketches. They detect important elements in your image, such as facial features, textures, depth, and shading, to recreate them as precise hand-drawn sketches. Easily adjust how closely the sketch resembles your original photo while maintaining clarity and avoiding distortion in portraits, pets, landscapes, and more. Multiple style variations are available, each offering unique line work and shading for an authentic, realistic-looking sketch.

or drop a file

Dog standing in grassy field rendered in pencil-style using cross hatch gfx
Original photo of dog in sunset-lit field with soft background blur

Before

After

Enhance Your Photo With a DLX Sketch Effect

Our Digital Art DLX effects bring a new level of refinement to the classic Sketcher collection. These premium effects are designed to capture fine detail, add depth, and deliver a more polished sketched look than standard styles. With advanced rendering, our DLX effects make it easy to transform photos into expressive, visually striking sketches.

or drop a file

Gothic cathedral transformed into detailed line art using ink wash dlx
Original photo of gothic cathedral with warm lighting and clear blue sky

Before

After

Learn Creative Ways to Apply Sketch Effects

Follow these step-by-step tutorials to see how sketch effects can transform portraits, pet photos, and designs into works of art.

Black-and-white sketch of two happy dogs, showcasing the use of BeFunky's photo-to-sketch converter for creating detailed pet portraits.

Turn Pet Photos Into Sketches

Highlight your pet’s personality with detailed sketch effects that add texture, linework, and charm. Perfect for portraits or keepsakes.

A comic-style graphic novel panel featuring a young girl in a coat and boots, with text narrating the scene, created using BeFunky's Graphic Novel effect.

Create Comic-Style Photos

Apply a Graphic Novel effect to transform photos into illustrated panels, ideal for storytelling, posters, or unique designs.

A black-and-white sketch-style portrait of a woman with long hair and striking features, showcasing BeFunky's sketch effects for dramatic portraits.

Enhance Portraits With Sketch Effects

Use sketch styles to bring out expression and mood while keeping lifelike details in headshots, family portraits, and selfies.

A collage of colorful portraits with sketch effects layered over, demonstrating BeFunky's tools for enhancing profile pictures.

Make Profile Pictures Stand Out

Convert your photo into a sketch and layer it with other editing tools for a bold, artistic profile picture that grabs attention.

A personalized holiday card with a family photo transformed into a sketch effect, showcasing BeFunky's sketch tools for custom greeting cards.

Design Custom Greeting Cards

Turn your photos into sketches to create holiday and celebration cards that feel more personal and memorable.

A collection of colorful, hand-drawn-style autumn leaves and mushrooms, showcasing BeFunky's sketch effects for enhancing graphic designs.

Elevate Marketing Graphics

Apply sketch filters to illustrations, icons, and photos to create eye-catching designs for social media, branding, and promotional materials.

Bring Sketch Effects Everywhere

Download our mobile app to convert photos into detailed sketches easily. Whether you’re commuting or lounging at home, you can make stunning digital sketches from any device.

Download App
qr code

How to Turn a Photo Into a Sketch

Here's how to go from photo to sketch in just a few seconds!

An icon of a photo with a landscape and clouds, representing the step to upload your photo in BeFunky's Photo Editor.

01. Upload Your Photo

Open your image in BeFunky’s Photo Editor.

An icon of a painter's palette with a paint drop, representing the step to choose your sketch effect from the Sketcher collection.

02. Choose Your Sketch Effect

Open the Sketcher collection in the Artsy section and choose your sketch effect.

An icon of a downward arrow over a file, representing the step to save your edited image as a JPG, PNG, or PDF.

03. Save It

Save your image as a jpg, png, or pdf.

Turn Photos Into Sketches, Instantly!

or drop a file

Frequently Asked Questions

How do the Photo to Sketch effects work?

Our AI-powered Photo to Sketch effects utilize smart image detection to recognize key details in your photos, including facial features, shading, textures, and backgrounds. Based on these details, the effect applies a sketch style that preserves clarity, adds depth, and mimics real-world drawing techniques, such as pencil, ink, or crosshatching. The result is a hand-drawn look that feels both authentic and artistic.

What kinds of photos work best with BeFunky's sketch effects?

Photos with emotion or texture work best, think portraits, pets, and landscapes. BeFunky’s Photo to Sketch effects enhance contrast and linework to give any image a timeless, hand-drawn look.

How long does it take to turn a photo into a Sketch?

Just a few seconds! Once your photo is uploaded, you can apply any Sketch effect and see the transformation instantly. You can also easily fine-tune each effect to control how much or how little of the style is applied.

What devices can I use to turn photos into sketches?

You can turn photos into sketches using BeFunky on desktop browsers, Chromebooks, iPhones, iPads, and Android phones and tablets. All our features are fully optimized for each platform, so you can create wherever inspiration strikes.

Our Photo to Sketch effects are part of BeFunky Plus, and your subscription works seamlessly across all supported devices. Just log in to access your premium features, no matter where you’re editing.

Do I need an account to turn photos into sketches with BeFunky?

You can try some Photo to Sketch effects without creating an account. Many of BeFunky’s tools are free, but to access premium sketch styles, batch editing, and other advanced features, a BeFunky Plus subscription and login are required.

Who designs BeFunky's Photo to Sketch effects?

Our team in Portland, Oregon, designs all the Photo to Sketch effects, making them entirely unique to BeFunky. They’re inspired by real art styles and carefully built to make your photos look like beautiful, hand-drawn sketches.

How does BeFunky handle my personal data and photos?

Your privacy is important to us. When you upload a photo or submit any data, it’s encrypted and handled securely. We do not store, share, or use your photos for any other purpose without your consent. You stay in control of your images. Review our Privacy Policy.

How do I contact BeFunky's Support if I need help?

If you have questions or encounter an issue, you can visit our Help Center for tutorials and troubleshooting guides. If you still need assistance, our friendly Support team is available through our contact form and typically responds within one business day.