A way of printing a photograph with a single ink. The picture is broken into a grid of dots, large where it is dark and small where it is light, and from a normal distance your eye blends them back into shades of gray. Newspapers printed photos this way for a century, and comics used colored dot screens for their shading, which is where the pop art look comes from.

How do I make a halftone effect from a photo?

Drop the photo in and it is converted immediately. Set how many dots across the picture you want: around 60 to 100 for a bold, graphic look, more for a finer print that reads closer to the photo. Raise the contrast until the darkest areas merge into solid ink and the lightest nearly disappear, then download it.

What does CMYK halftone mean?

It is how color printing works. The picture is split into cyan, magenta, yellow and black, each printed as its own grid of dots at a different angle, 15, 75, 0 and 45 degrees, so the four patterns overlap cleanly instead of forming a distracting ripple called moiré. Up close you see colored rosettes; from a distance, full color. It is the classic comic book texture.

Why is the screen angle 45 degrees?

A grid lined up with the edges of the picture reads as a pattern of rows and columns, and the eye notices it. Turned to 45 degrees it becomes much less obvious and reads as tone instead. That is why single-ink halftones have been printed at 45 degrees for as long as there have been halftones. Set 0 if you want the grid to be the point.

Can I get a vector halftone for Cricut or printing?

Yes. Download the SVG: every dot is a vector circle, square or line, so it prints sharp at any size and opens in Cricut Design Space, Silhouette, Illustrator, Inkscape and Figma. For cutting, use one ink and fewer dots across, since hundreds of thousands of tiny shapes make a slow cut.

Is my photo uploaded?

No. The halftone is drawn in your browser, so the photo never leaves your device. iPhone HEIC photos work too.

Halftone Generator

New

Turn a photo into a halftone: the dot pattern of old newspapers, comic books and pop art. Choose one ink or full CMYK color, dots, squares or lines, then download a PNG or a true vector SVG. Free, in your browser.

Drop a photo here

or paste with Ctrl+V. Portraits and bold subjects make the best halftones.

Runs entirely in your browser. Your images are never uploaded to a server.

How it works

Drop in a photo. Portraits and bold subjects make the strongest halftones.
Choose a style: one ink, CMYK color for the comic book look, or dots in the photo's own colors.
Pick dots, squares or lines, and set how many dots across and the screen angle.
Push the contrast until the dots have real range, from tiny in the highlights to merged in the shadows.
Download a PNG, or an SVG where every dot is a vector shape.

Common use cases

Pop art and comic book style portraits for posters, covers and posts.
A newspaper or zine look for a flyer, a band poster or a screen print.
Vector halftone patterns to cut on a Cricut or a laser, or to print T-shirts.
Textured backgrounds and overlays for graphic design.
A retro treatment for product photos or a brand campaign.

Frequently asked questions

What is a halftone?: A way of printing a photograph with a single ink. The picture is broken into a grid of dots, large where it is dark and small where it is light, and from a normal distance your eye blends them back into shades of gray. Newspapers printed photos this way for a century, and comics used colored dot screens for their shading, which is where the pop art look comes from.
How do I make a halftone effect from a photo?: Drop the photo in and it is converted immediately. Set how many dots across the picture you want: around 60 to 100 for a bold, graphic look, more for a finer print that reads closer to the photo. Raise the contrast until the darkest areas merge into solid ink and the lightest nearly disappear, then download it.
What does CMYK halftone mean?: It is how color printing works. The picture is split into cyan, magenta, yellow and black, each printed as its own grid of dots at a different angle, 15, 75, 0 and 45 degrees, so the four patterns overlap cleanly instead of forming a distracting ripple called moiré. Up close you see colored rosettes; from a distance, full color. It is the classic comic book texture.
Why is the screen angle 45 degrees?: A grid lined up with the edges of the picture reads as a pattern of rows and columns, and the eye notices it. Turned to 45 degrees it becomes much less obvious and reads as tone instead. That is why single-ink halftones have been printed at 45 degrees for as long as there have been halftones. Set 0 if you want the grid to be the point.
Can I get a vector halftone for Cricut or printing?: Yes. Download the SVG: every dot is a vector circle, square or line, so it prints sharp at any size and opens in Cricut Design Space, Silhouette, Illustrator, Inkscape and Figma. For cutting, use one ink and fewer dots across, since hundreds of thousands of tiny shapes make a slow cut.
Is my photo uploaded?: No. The halftone is drawn in your browser, so the photo never leaves your device. iPhone HEIC photos work too.

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Halftone Generator

How it works

Common use cases

Frequently asked questions

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