Image-to-Art Portraits¶

Transform photographs into striking generative artwork. Each technique uses Scene.from_image() and a different approach to visualize the image data.

Classic Dot Art¶

Map brightness to dot radius — the fundamental image-to-art technique:

scene = Scene.from_image("MonaLisa.jpg", grid_size=45, cell_size=9)

for cell in scene.grid:
    r = cell.brightness * 0.48
    if r > 0.033:
        cell.add_dot(radius=r, color="#ffffff")

Classic dot art — White dots on dark background — bright areas shine through larger dots.

Even simpler with color_brightness

Instead of manually computing white/gray shades, use color_brightness to scale any color:

for cell in scene.grid:
    cell.add_dot(radius=0.4, color="white", color_brightness=cell.brightness)

This works with any base color — color="coral", color="gold", etc.

Color Dot Art¶

Preserve the original image colors for a vibrant result:

for cell in scene.grid:
    r = cell.brightness * 0.45
    if r > 0.025:
        cell.add_dot(radius=r, color=cell.color, opacity=0.7 + cell.brightness * 0.3)

Color dot art — Full-color dots retain the character's vibrant palette.

Halftone Effect¶

Invert the mapping — dark areas get large dots, simulating print halftone:

scene.background = "#0a0a0a"
for cell in scene.grid:
    r = (1 - cell.brightness) * 0.5  # Inverted!
    if r > 0.0375:
        cell.add_dot(radius=r, color="#e0e0e0")

Halftone effect — Inverted brightness creates a newspaper halftone look.

Line Art¶

Replace dots with diagonal lines. Width maps to brightness:

for cell in scene.grid:
    width = cell.brightness * 3
    if width > 0.2:
        cell.add_diagonal(
            width=width, color=cell.color,
            color_brightness=cell.brightness,  # Dim dark areas further
            opacity=0.5 + cell.brightness * 0.5,
        )

Line art — Diagonal lines of varying thickness trace the portrait's contours.

Color Mosaic¶

The most direct approach — fill each cell with its sampled color:

Shape Art¶

Choose different polygon shapes based on brightness bands:

for cell in scene.grid:
    b = cell.brightness
    size = 0.4 + b * 0.4
    if b < 0.3:
        verts = Polygon.square(size=size)
    elif b < 0.6:
        verts = Polygon.hexagon(size=size)
    else:
        verts = Polygon.star(points=6, size=size, inner_ratio=0.5)
    cell.add_polygon(verts, fill=cell.color, opacity=0.6 + b * 0.4)

Shape art — Squares for shadows, hexagons for midtones, stars for highlights.

Monochrome Portrait¶

One base color modulated entirely by color_brightness — no manual RGB math:

scene = Scene.from_image("MonaLisa.jpg", grid_size=40, cell_size=10)
scene.background = "#1a1a2e"

for cell in scene.grid:
    cell.add_dot(
        radius=0.15 + cell.brightness * 0.30,
        color="coral",
        color_brightness=cell.brightness,
        opacity=0.5 + cell.brightness * 0.5,
    )

Monochrome portrait — A single color — coral — dimmed by brightness. Dark areas go nearly black, bright areas glow.

Works with any color

Swap "coral" for "gold", "cyan", "mediumpurple" — the brightness modifier handles the rest.

Geometric Patterns →