FreeImage Effects
Apply an effect to an image
Posterize, threshold, solarize, emboss, edge detect and halftone.
Drop an image here, or .
Free, no sign-up. Runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
Image Effects: how to use it
- Drop in an image.
- Choose the Effect: posterize, threshold, solarize, emboss, edge detect or halftone.
- Adjust Levels / cut-off (or Halftone cell for halftone), tick Monochrome or Invert result if you like, then download.
Tips
- Threshold turns an image into pure black and white, which is useful before tracing with the SVG Vectorizer.
- Halftone with a larger cell gives a bold, printed-comic look.
Image Effects: what it does and when to use it
Image Effects collects six classic graphic effects that come from printing and early digital imaging. Posterize reduces the picture to a few flat tones per colour, like a screen print. Threshold turns it into pure black and white at a cut-off you choose. Solarize inverts the brightest tones, an effect first seen by accident in the darkroom. Emboss makes it look pressed into metal, edge detect keeps only the outlines, and halftone rebuilds it from dots like a newspaper photo.
Beyond decoration, threshold is useful for cleaning up scanned signatures and line drawings, and edge detect is a quick way to see the structure of an image before tracing it. Monochrome and Invert give each effect extra variations.
These effects replace detail with a style, so they work best on bold subjects with clear shapes. For outlines and flat colour that still read as the original scene, Photo to Cartoon is gentler, and to turn line art into scalable shapes use the SVG Vectorizer.
Image Effects: frequently asked questions
Is the Image Effects free, and do I need to sign up?
Yes, the Image Effects is 100% free with no sign-up, no login and no account. The Image Effects runs in your browser, so it has no daily limit and no upload, and saves at full size with no watermark. See why it is free.
How do I make a pop art or poster effect?
Choose Posterize and a low number of levels, around 4. Flat bands of colour give a screen-print look. For outlines like a comic, try Photo to Cartoon.
What is the halftone effect?
It turns the photo into a pattern of dots, like an old newspaper or comic print. Larger dots look more graphic; smaller dots stay closer to the photo.
Can I make a photo into an outline drawing?
Edge detection draws the outlines of the picture. For a softer hand-drawn look, use the Photo to Sketch tool.