// the find
vietnh1009/ASCII-generator
ASCII generator (image to text, image to image, video to video)
A Python script collection that converts images and videos to ASCII art using OpenCV and PIL. Supports grayscale and color output, multiple character sets (simple vs complex density), and non-Latin alphabets including Chinese, Japanese, Korean. For developers or artists who want ASCII output and don't mind scripting their way to results.
Multi-language character set support is genuinely useful — Japanese and Korean kanji/hangul as ASCII density characters produces distinctive results you won't get from Latin-only tools. Color mode works by sampling pixel RGB and applying it to the rendered character, so colored ASCII video is actually watchable. Video support via cv2 frame iteration is straightforward and works. The simple/complex character density modes (two different ASCII ramp lengths) give you real control over output texture.
Six separate script files (img2txt.py, img2img.py, img2img_color.py, video2video.py, video2video_color.py) instead of one CLI with flags — you have to edit the script itself to change parameters like num_cols, background color, or output path. No installable package, no setup.py, no requirements.txt — you figure out the dependencies from the README bullet list. Last meaningful commit was 2024 and the repo has been largely static for years. Video output is written as AVI even when you request .mp4, and there's no audio passthrough, so you lose the soundtrack.