PLOTCASTER Search Photo to line art

One image, every method: 16 dithering algorithms and 19 plotter styles compared

Same paper, same pen: an A5 page with 8 mm margins and a 0.3 mm pen. First the dithering algorithms on a 0.7 mm grid, then the line styles. Everything is drawn from the lion photo, except that Words uses the mountain peak photo, Edges uses the tabby cat photo, Fingerprint and Draw use the matryoshka dolls photo and Trace colour uses the spiral staircase photo. Click a tile for details and a way to try it on your own photo, or browse the plotter art generator and all 16 dithering algorithms one at a time. New to plotting? Start with what a pen plotter is.

The source photo, a lionSource: Lion, Andreas Vonlanthen, 2025, Unsplash License

Dithering algorithms

Threshold applied to a photo of a lion threshold Threshold 31,987 marks Bayer 2×2 dithering applied to a photo of a lion ordered Bayer 2×2 28,350 marks Bayer 4×4 dithering applied to a photo of a lion ordered Bayer 4×4 28,462 marks Bayer 8×8 dithering applied to a photo of a lion ordered Bayer 8×8 28,464 marks Bayer 16×16 dithering applied to a photo of a lion ordered Bayer 16×16 28,464 marks Blue noise dithering applied to a photo of a lion ordered Blue noise 28,583 marks Floyd–Steinberg dithering applied to a photo of a lion diffusion Floyd–Steinberg 28,592 marks Atkinson dithering applied to a photo of a lion diffusion Atkinson 29,472 marks Jarvis–Judice–Ninke dithering applied to a photo of a lion diffusion Jarvis–Judice–Ninke 28,645 marks Stucki dithering applied to a photo of a lion diffusion Stucki 28,633 marks Burkes dithering applied to a photo of a lion diffusion Burkes 28,612 marks Sierra dithering applied to a photo of a lion diffusion Sierra 28,636 marks Sierra two-row dithering applied to a photo of a lion diffusion Sierra two-row 28,622 marks Sierra lite dithering applied to a photo of a lion diffusion Sierra lite 28,586 marks Ostromoukhov dithering applied to a photo of a lion diffusion Ostromoukhov 28,590 marks Zhou–Fang dithering applied to a photo of a lion diffusion Zhou–Fang 28,580 marks

Plotter styles

Lion photo turned into a loose ink sketch for a pen plotter Lines Sketch 1,627 paths · about 21 min Lion photo drawn as flow field lines for a pen plotter Lines Flow 1,321 paths · about 18 min Lion photo drawn as ballpoint scribble loops for a pen plotter Lines Scribble 39 paths · about 18 min Mountain peak photo written in rows of small single-stroke words for a pen plotter Lines Words 4,485 paths · about 42 min From the Mountain peak photo Lion photo dithered into dots for a laser engraver or pen plotter Dots Dither 16,481 paths · about 114 min Lion photo stippled in dots for a pen plotter Dots Stipple 7,826 paths · about 83 min Lion photo crosshatched in straight pen lines for a pen plotter Lines Hatch 3,132 paths · about 38 min Lion photo drawn as rows of squiggly waves for a pen plotter Lines Squiggle 72 paths · about 17 min Lion photo drawn as one wobbling spiral line for a pen plotter Lines Spiral 55 paths · about 18 min Lion photo drawn as smooth rings that crowd together in the shadows for a pen plotter Lines Rings 438 paths · about 14 min Tabby cat photo as clean single-stroke outline line art of the cat’s face Lines Edges 104 paths · about 2 min From the Tabby cat photo Lion photo in a copperplate engraving effect for a pen plotter Lines Engrave 2,189 paths · about 34 min Lion photo drawn in thousands of short fur strands for a pen plotter Lines Fur 4,561 paths · about 42 min Lion photo drawn in black and white pen lines on grey paper for a pen plotter Lines Chiaroscuro 1,907 paths · about 24 min Lion photo cut into hatched woodcut facets for a pen plotter Lines Facets 4,724 paths · about 39 min Matryoshka dolls photo drawn as fingerprint ridges that follow the painted flowers, for a pen plotter Lines Fingerprint 197 paths · about 7 min From the Matryoshka dolls photo Matryoshka dolls photo as a hand-drawn ink line drawing of one doll’s face, made by a neural model Lines Draw 126 paths · about 3 min From the Matryoshka dolls photo Lion photo drawn as topographic contour lines for a pen plotter Extract Contours 592 paths · about 19 min Spiral staircase photo with the dark iron frame of the skylight traced as single strokes Extract Trace colour 132 paths · about 3 min From the Spiral staircase photo