Projects / Spiralist

Spiralist

Design & Creation

Turn a photo into continuous-line artwork in a browser, then export a PNG, plotter SVG, or drawing timelapse.

Use with conditions
Last updatedRelease 2026-09-23
Open source licenseMIT
PlatformsWeb browser with WebGL 2 on desktop or mobile
DeploymentMobile / Web

About this project

Spiralist redraws a photograph as one continuous line. Artistic mode varies the line width with tone, Realistic mode changes how densely a fixed-width line is packed, and Line art follows the subject contours. Spiral, Wander, Contour, and Maze paths can be combined with drawing media and paper styles. The application also produces drawing timelapse films.

The official hosted app provides a photo chooser and included samples, followed by controls for the mode, medium, paper, and line. Its Download dialog offers PNG or SVG output, with PNG sizes up to 8K. The site presents the workflow as processing the photograph in the browser rather than uploading it.

A WebGL 2 browser is required. The initial visit loads the application, while Line art downloads additional models on its first use; those files are cached for later offline use. Films use WebCodecs where available and fall back to MediaRecorder. The documentation also describes fallback edge detection when a line-art model cannot load, and limitations when an image or drawing size exceeds the detail budget.

Recommended by

Source labels distinguish recommendations, neutral mentions and the author’s own releases. Commercial relationships are unknown unless an author relationship is shown. Worthary reviews project eligibility separately.

Decision guide
01

Why it is worth a look

  • Photo-to-continuous-line drawing
  • Artistic, realistic, and line-art modes
02

Before you use it

  • A browser with WebGL 2 is required
  • Line-art models download on first use; the documented bundle is about 54 MB or 66 MB with WebGPU
  • Offline use depends on completing the first visit and model download and retaining the browser cache
  • MP4 support uses WebCodecs or a MediaRecorder fallback; results depend on browser capabilities
Manual setupLow
With an AI agentLow
DeploymentMobile / Web
Additional requirementsNot verified

A browser with WebGL 2; A photo you have permission to process or an included sample; Internet access for the initial application and optional model downloads; Some requirements have not been verified. Check the official setup instructions.

03

What it can do

  • Photo-to-continuous-line drawing
  • Artistic, realistic, and line-art modes
  • PNG and plotter SVG exports
  • Drawing timelapse films

Who it fits

Good for

Making continuous-line illustrations from personal photographs; Preparing artwork for image sharing or a pen plotter

Not a fit

You need a full manual image editor or layered illustration workflow; Your browser cannot provide WebGL 2; You need guaranteed output detail for every image and paper size

Getting started

  1. Open the official live app in a browser with WebGL 2
  2. Use an included sample or choose a photo from your device
  3. Select a drawing mode, line path, medium, and paper
  4. Open Download to choose PNG or SVG; use Film timelapse for video output