Create Stencil from Image
Reduce an image to a two-tone stencil of black shapes on a clear background. Runs entirely in your browser, so your data never leaves your device.
Drop a file here, or click to browse
Files never leave your device
Output
The result appears here as you type.
How to use Create Stencil from Image
- 1. Drop in a photo. Add the portrait or graphic you want reduced to a stencil, in any common image format. High-contrast source images with a clear subject work best.
- 2. Adjust the Threshold level. Slide Threshold level to control which pixels count as dark enough to become solid black. A lower value keeps only the darkest shadows, a higher value pulls in more midtones as black shapes.
- 3. Download the stencil. Click generate and download the two-tone PNG. Everything above the threshold becomes transparent, everything below becomes solid black, ready to trace or cut.
When to use Create Stencil from Image
Create Stencil from Image reduces a photo to a two-tone stencil, solid black shapes on a clear background, by thresholding pixel brightness. It is aimed at anyone turning a photograph into artwork meant to be cut, painted through, or printed as flat shapes rather than continuous tone.
- Cutting a vinyl or paper stencil. You want to spray-paint a portrait onto a wall or t-shirt and need a clean black-and-transparent version of a photo that a cutting machine or craft knife can follow.
- Prepping art for screen printing. A photo needs to become a single-color screen print, and reducing it to stencil form first shows you exactly which areas will hold ink before you burn a screen.
- Making protest or poster-style graphics. The bold two-tone look used in political posters and street art starts from a photograph reduced this way, with the threshold tuned until the likeness still reads clearly.
Examples
Cut-ready stencil
Input
portrait.png + level 128
Output
portrait.png as solid black shapes, rest transparent
About the Create Stencil from Image tool
Create Stencil from Image does its work locally, right in the browser. Reduce an image to a two-tone stencil of black shapes on a clear background. There is no upload step, no queue and no account, and your data never travels over the network.
It belongs to the Image Tools collection on EditSafely, a set of 200 small, focused Image utilities that share the same instant, private workspace.
You can shape the output with the Threshold level setting, and the result refreshes the moment you change it. The finished file is put together in browser memory and saved with the Download button, so it never touches a server on the way to your disk. A worked example further down the page shows exactly what the tool produces for a real input.
Running locally also makes the tool fast and dependable: results appear as you type or drop a file, there is no server outage that can take it down mid-task, and confidential data can be processed without a second thought.
Frequently asked questions
Is Create Stencil from Image free to use?
Yes, it is completely free. All 2,658 tools on EditSafely work without an account, a subscription or usage limits.
Are my files uploaded to a server?
Everything happens locally. Your browser downloads the tool's code once, then does all the processing itself; nothing you enter is transmitted, stored or logged. You can even go offline after the page loads and it will still work.
Which files does Create Stencil from Image accept?
It accepts images in any common format (PNG, JPG, WebP, GIF and more). There is no file size cap imposed by a server; very large files are limited only by your device's memory.
Do I need to sign up or install anything?
No. The tool works in any modern browser on desktop, tablet or phone. There is no account to create, no extension to add and no software to install.
How do I save the output?
Click the Download button once the result is ready. The file is built in your browser's memory and handed straight to your downloads folder, without passing through a server.