img_to_ascii

A simple image to ascii converter.

The script takes an input image and converts it to a string. Simulating the light intensity with different ascii characters.

The algorithm is the following:

1. Divide the image into chunks (--numChunks). Due to character height being ~2x greater than width we have twice as many chunks in the X direction than in the Y direction (for image with aspect ratio 1:1)
2. Calculate the average light intensity in each chunk
3. Map the chunk intensity to a character (for example . - lighter $ - darker)

So 1 chunk -> 1 character

Functionalities:

• convert input image to ascii text image (--fileName)
• convert live camera output to ascii file (--live) - you can lookup the result with VSCode auto-refresh functionality
• specify chunk amount

Setup

python -m pip install opencv-python
python -m pip install pillow

Examples

Live

python main.py --live --numChunks 200  

You can see the camera image by using a text editor that supports automatic reload.

For example try Visual Studio Code.

Just launch the script and open the file.

Cat

python main.py --file cat.jpeg --numChunks 200  

(Source https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Adorable-animal-cat-20787.jpg)

Todo

• Add the possibility of adding custom intensity mapping characters