ITOA: Image to ASCII Converter

A web-based tool that converts images into ASCII art, with support for both monochrome and color output. Try it at itoa.hex.dance

The code and this readme were generated by Claude 3.5 Sonnet.

Features

• Drag & Drop Interface: Simply drag and drop any image file into the converter
• Color Support: Toggle between monochrome and colored ASCII output
• Size Control: Adjust output size (Small/Medium/Large) for different levels of detail
• Save as PNG: Export your ASCII art as a PNG image
• Responsive Design: Works on both desktop and mobile devices
• File Support: Handles JPG, PNG, and GIF formats

How It Works

The conversion process follows these steps:

1. Image Processing:

   • Image is loaded and scaled to maintain aspect ratio
   • Canvas API is used to access pixel data
   • Each pixel's RGB values are analyzed

2. ASCII Conversion:

   • For monochrome output:

     • Pixel brightness is calculated using luminance formula: 0.299R + 0.587G + 0.114B
     • Brightness is mapped to ASCII characters: .:-=+*#%@ (from darkest to brightest)

   • For color output:

     • Same ASCII character mapping is used for consistency
     • Original pixel colors are preserved using inline HTML styling
     • Characters are wrapped in <span> tags with RGB color values

3. Output Generation:

   • Monochrome: Pure text output with newlines
   • Color: HTML structure with styled spans
   • Font size is dynamically calculated to fit the viewport

Technical Details

• Built with React and Vite
• Uses HTML Canvas for image processing
• Implements custom drag & drop handling
• Features animated UI elements:
  • Matrix-style upload button
  • CRT-effect save button
  • Glitch effect size toggle
  • Animated favicon