Scratch Art Maker
Turn a photo or drawing into scratch art: the look of a black-coated sheet where scratched lines let the colour underneath show through. Light parts of your picture get many scratches and dark parts few or none, so the picture appears in bright lines on black. Choose what is under the black coat (white, rainbow, gold, silver, pastel rainbow or neon), the scratch style, the gap between lines and the number of passes; each pass adds a new set of lines in the lighter parts, so a lighter place always holds every scratch of a darker one plus more. The scratches are random but seeded: the same seed gives exactly the same picture. There is also a tracing guide: the same scratches as black lines on white, to copy onto a real scratch-art sheet. Nothing is uploaded.
100% private — everything runs in your browser. Everything runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
The SVG holds the black coat and the scratches as lines at real size. Print the PDF at 100% (Actual size).
Picture
Scratches
Size
Page
Runs in your browser with our own code: your picture is read on this device and nothing is uploaded or saved. The sample pictures are drawn by our code. You may use what you make here, including commercially, with no credit needed.
How to make scratch art from a photo
- Add your photo or drawing, or pick one of our sample pictures.
- Choose what is under the black coat and which way the colours run.
- Pick the scratch style, the line gap, the passes and the scratch width.
- Press New scratches until you like it (or type a seed to repeat one).
- Download the PDF, PNG or SVG; for drawing it yourself, switch Make to the tracing guide.
What you can use it for
- Scratch art posters and cards from your own photos
- Reference for scratching a real scratch-art sheet
- Art class tone and line exercises
- Backgrounds and textures with a scratched look
- Pen plotter art in white or metallic ink on black paper
- Gifts and party crafts
Lightness and passes (6 passes in the lightest parts)
| Passes | Picture lightness | Scratched |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | under 14% | stays black |
| 1 | 14% to under 29% | pass 1 |
| 2 | 29% to under 43% | passes 1 to 2 |
| 3 | 43% to under 57% | passes 1 to 3 |
| 4 | 57% to under 71% | passes 1 to 4 |
| 5 | 71% to under 86% | passes 1 to 5 |
| 6 | 86% to 100% | every pass |
Lightness 0% is black and 100% is white. With another number of passes the steps are spread the same way.
How much shows through (1.5 mm gap, 0.3 mm scratch)
| Passes | Parallel lines | Crossing lines | Wavy lines |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| 1 | 20% | 20% | 24% |
| 2 | 40% | 36% | 44% |
| 3 | 60% | 49% | 56% |
| 4 | 80% | 59% | 67% |
| 5 | 85% | 69% | 74% |
| 6 | 90% | 77% | 79% |
Share of the picture where the colour shows, measured on an even grey patch with seed 1. It rises with every pass because each pass is added to the ones before.
What is under the black coat
| Under-layer | Colours (start to end) | Drawn as |
|---|---|---|
| White | #ffffff | 1 colour |
| Rainbow | #e8384f, #fd817d, #fdae33, #eecc16, #a4c61a, #37a862, #2c9bd6, #4a64d8, #9a5bd1 | 36 bands |
| Gold | #7a5a12, #e6c35c, #a8811f, #f7e39a, #8c6a18 | 36 bands |
| Silver | #6e7378, #d9dde1, #9aa0a6, #f2f4f6, #7d8288 | 36 bands |
| Pastel rainbow | #f7a8b8, #fbd3a1, #fdf3a4, #b8e6b0, #a8d8f0, #c9b6ec | 36 bands |
| Neon | #ff2fb3, #ffe600, #29ff8a, #26c9ff, #a35bff | 36 bands |
The colours run diagonally, left to right or top to bottom, in the order listed.
Our 5 sample pictures as rainbow scratch art
| Sample (drawn by our code) | Scratches | Total length | Colour showing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hills under a full moon | 603 | 49.686 m | 57% |
| Tree on a hill | 1087 | 67.146 m | 67% |
| Flower head | 1439 | 80.399 m | 77% |
| Moon over the sea | 969 | 26.829 m | 32% |
| Tone ramp (light to dark) | 647 | 48.368 m | 53% |
180 mm wide, parallel lines at 30°, 1.5 mm gap, 6 passes, 0.3 mm scratch, seed 1. Your own picture shows its own counts in the info line.
Which tool to use
| You want | Use |
|---|---|
| Bright or rainbow lines on black from a photo, plus a tracing guide | Scratch Art Maker (this page) |
| A pencil look in grey on white | Image to Sketch |
| Tone made of dots | Stipple Generator |
| Dot or line screens for print | Halftone Image |
| Line art to colour in | Photo to Coloring Page |
Also handy: Image to Sketch, the Stipple Generator and Halftone Image for other ways to draw tone.
More free tools
Turning photos into craft and art?
Image tools that run privately in your browser, with no sign-up and no watermark.
Frequently asked questions
What is scratch art?
Art made by scratching through a dark top coat to show a lighter or coloured layer underneath, so the picture appears as bright lines on black. This tool draws that look from your picture.
What is scratchboard art?
The same idea with a white layer under the black, drawn in fine lines. Choose White under the black coat for that look.
How does the picture become scratches?
Each pass scratches its own set of lines wherever the picture is at least as light as that pass’s step (see the table), so the lightest parts get every pass and the darkest get none. A lighter place always holds every scratch of a darker one, and our tests check that the revealed share never falls from dark to light.
What colours are under the rainbow coat?
The rainbow runs through 9 stated colours (listed in the table) in 36 even bands across the picture; each scratch takes the colour of the band it crosses. Our tests check the colour of every band against the listed colours.
What does the seed do?
The waves, ring centres and short scratches are placed at random, but from a seed number. The same seed, picture and settings always give the same picture, line for line. New scratches moves to the next seed.
Do the scratches stay inside the picture?
Yes. The centre of every scratch stays at least half the scratch width inside the edge, so no line runs over the border. Our tests check every point.
What is the tracing guide for?
For scratching a real scratch-art sheet by hand: it prints the same lines in black on white paper, at the same size, so you can trace or copy them onto your sheet.
Is it free?
Yes. There is no sign-up, no watermark and no limit.
Is my picture uploaded?
No. Your picture is read by your browser on your own device and drawn on a canvas there; nothing is sent anywhere and nothing is stored after you close the tab.