Remove the background from a sketch
Free, no signup, and your image never leaves your device.
A pencil sketch is harder than an ink drawing: graphite is grey rather than black, so it sits much closer to the paper in colour.
Why these settings
Colour mode with a higher tolerance than ink needs, because paper photographed under room lighting varies a lot — but not so high that mid-grey pencil goes with it.
Settings to start from
- How to find the background
- By colour
- Tolerance
- 34
- Only the area connected to the edges
- Off
- File type
- PNG — transparent, lossless
Step by step
- Drop a sketch onto the page, paste it, or choose the file.
- Apply the settings above — they are a starting point, not a rule.
- Check the edges at full size, and fix anything left with the brush.
- Choose transparent or a solid colour, then download.
What to watch out for
The faintest construction lines will disappear before the paper is fully clear. If you need them, stop lowering the tolerance and finish with the brush instead.
Common questions
What is the best way to remove the background from a sketch?
Use the settings above as a starting point, then check the edges at full size. Most of the work is choosing the right mode; the sliders only fine-tune it.
Is a sketch uploaded to a server?
No. It is decoded and processed entirely in your browser, and nothing is sent anywhere. There is no server to send it to.
Is there a watermark or a limit?
Neither. No watermark is added, there is no cap on how many images you process, and no account is needed.