# Sketch to image

> An image generation visual that paints the way an artist does. Pencil strokes sketch the scene, a round brush blocks in flat colors region by region, grain and warm light refine it, and it resolves into the finished photo, with crossfading stage labels and a thin progress line.

- Type: Component (special)
- Access: Arc Pro
- Page: https://uiarc.dev/components/sketch-to-image
- Markdown: https://uiarc.dev/components/sketch-to-image/markdown
- Source file: `registry/components/sketch-to-image/sketch-to-image.tsx`
- Dependencies: motion, lucide-react
- Keywords: special, ai, motion, new, image generation, sketch to image, ai painting, generating image, loading image, diffusion progress, text to image, svg path drawing, brush reveal, ai canvas

## When to use

- An image generation feature needs a waiting state that shows the image taking shape rather than a spinner.
- A landing or onboarding section explains text to image or sketch to image generation.
- An empty canvas in an image tool while the first result renders.

## When not to use

- Text or code generation: use a streaming reply or text-shimmer.
- Long batch jobs with many images: use a progress list with thumbnails.
- When you have real intermediate frames from the model: show those frames instead of a simulated painting.

## Installation

Sketch to image is part of Arc Pro. The live preview is public; the source and install command need Pro.

### CLI with a Pro token

1. Create a token in your account and set it in the environment (or `.env.local`). Never commit it.

```bash
export ARC_PRO_TOKEN=arc_pro_...
```

2. Add the Pro registry to `components.json`:

```json
{
  "registries": {
    "@uiarc": "https://uiarc.dev/r/{name}.json",
    "@uiarc-pro": {
      "url": "https://uiarc.dev/r/pro/{name}.json",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer ${ARC_PRO_TOKEN}"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

3. Install:

```bash
npx shadcn@latest add @uiarc-pro/sketch-to-image
```

### Manual

Signed-in Pro members can copy the source from the Manual tab on the docs page.

- Plans: https://uiarc.dev/pricing
- Create a Pro token: https://uiarc.dev/account#pro-access
- Setup guide: https://uiarc.dev/docs/ai#pro-access

## Usage

```tsx
import { SketchToImage } from "@/components/arc/sketch-to-image/sketch-to-image";
import type { SketchStatus } from "@/components/arc/sketch-to-image/sketch-to-image";

export function GenerationPreview({ status }: { status: SketchStatus }) {
  return (
    <SketchToImage
      status={status}
      prompt="Layered alpine ridges at golden hour, warm haze"
      onComplete={() => console.log("revealed")}
    />
  );
}
```

## API reference

### SketchToImage

An image generation visual that paints like an artist. Pencil lines sketch the scene stroke by stroke with a pen tip that lifts and travels between strokes, a round brush sweeps flat color blocks in region by region from back to front, soft detail passes, grain and warm light refine it, and it resolves into the finished photo. A stage label with an icon crossfades under the canvas beside the prompt, with a thin progress line, a percent and a Replay button. With no props it loops on its own; pass status to follow a real generation. Nothing is generated: it is a simulated preview over a bundled photo.

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `status` | `"idle" \| "sketching" \| "blocking" \| "refining" \| "done"` | – | The generation stage. Leave it out to play the full loop on its own. Each stage plays to its end and holds there with a shimmering label until the next one arrives; moving back (for example to idle for a new request) fades the canvas to blank paper first. Mounting with done shows the photo straight away. |
| `duration` | `number` | `9000` | Milliseconds for one full pass from blank canvas to photo. Sketching takes about 38%, blocking 24%, refining 26% and the final crossfade 12%. |
| `loop` | `boolean` | `true` | When uncontrolled, holds the photo for about two seconds, fades back to blank paper and paints again. |
| `size` | `"sm" \| "md" \| "lg"` | `"md"` | Card width (340, 520 or 720px at most) and pencil weight, so lines stay crisp at every size. sm hides the Replay label and keeps the icon. |
| `tone` | `"accent" \| "neutral"` | `"accent"` | Color of the pencil lines, pen tip, stage icon and progress line. neutral uses --foreground. |
| `prompt` | `string` | `"Layered alpine ridges at golden hour, warm haze"` | The prompt under the stage label. It truncates to one line with the full text in a tooltip. Pass an empty string to hide it. |
| `scene` | `SketchScene` | `alpineScene` | What gets drawn and the photo it resolves into: { src, alt, lines, regions, light? } on a 600 × 400 canvas. lines are SVG path strings drawn in order; regions are { shapes, brush, tip? } painted back to front, where brush is the [x0, y0, x1, y1] rectangle the brush sweeps. Trace lines from your photo so the sketch matches it. |
| `showReplay` | `boolean` | `true` | Shows the Replay button. Replay fades to blank paper and paints again up to the current status. |
| `onReplay` | `() => void` | – | Called when Replay is pressed, for example to rerun a real request. |
| `onStageChange` | `(stage: SketchStatus) => void` | – | Called when the visible stage changes, once per stage, never per frame. |
| `onComplete` | `() => void` | – | Called each time the photo is fully revealed. |
| `className` | `string` | – | Class on the root figure. |

## Keyboard interactions

| Keys | Action |
| --- | --- |
| Tab | Moves to the Replay button. |
| Enter / Space | On Replay, fades the canvas back to blank paper and paints again. |

## Accessibility

- The card is a figure; the canvas is one image whose label names the stage and the scene (for example "Sketching: Layered mountain ridges under a warm evening sky") and becomes the photo's alt text when done. All drawing layers are hidden from assistive technology.
- A polite status region speaks each stage when status is controlled and says the preview is simulated. While it loops on its own it states once that it is a looping simulated preview and stays quiet.
- The progress line is a progressbar with a 0 to 100 value; aria-busy is set while a stage is in progress.
- Stage is never color alone: each stage pairs an icon (pen, brush, sparkles, check) with a label.

## Motion

- One requestAnimationFrame clock drives a single 0 to 1 timeline and writes straight to the DOM: stroke dash offsets, opacity and transforms only, with no React render per frame and no layout reads.
- Sketching draws each pencil stroke with an ease in out; the pen tip follows the stroke head and lifts (shrinks and dims) while it travels to the next stroke. Strokes get time by length, so long ridgelines and short trees feel equally paced.
- Blocking sweeps a wide round brush back and forth through a mask over each region, back to front, with a tip in the region's color. The pencil lines dim to a guide underneath.
- Refining fades in two pre-blurred passes of the photo, a static film grain and a soft warm light in the scene's light source. The blur is applied once; only opacity animates, so it stays on the compositor. Then the sharp photo crossfades in.
- The loop holds the photo, fades the whole canvas to blank paper over about 520ms while the progress line drains with it, resets while invisible and starts the next sketch, so there is no visible seam. Status changes always travel or fade, never cut.
- The stage label crossfades (out in 100ms, in 160ms with a 2px rise) and shimmers while a stage is in progress.
- Reduced motion jumps to the final image. Status changes and Replay become a short fade between end states with no drawing or travel.
- The clock stops when the card scrolls off screen and when nothing is moving.

## Responsive behavior

- Fills its container up to the size's maximum width; the canvas keeps a 3:2 ratio and the SVG scales without losing crispness.
- The prompt truncates to one line and the percent keeps a fixed width, so nothing shifts as it counts. When the card is narrower than 400px the Replay button drops to its icon.
- Holds up at 360px with no horizontal scroll.

## Performance

- About 20 SVG paths, three image layers sharing one download and one static noise filter. Only one brush mask is live at a time; finished regions drop their mask.
- No per-frame React renders: the label updates only on stage changes, the percent text only when the rounded value changes.
- Paused off screen with an IntersectionObserver and idle while holding a stage.

## Notes for AI

- Use it where an image is being generated: on an image canvas, in a chat reply that returns an image, or in an empty state while the first result renders. Map your backend's progress to status (queued: idle or sketching, early steps: sketching, middle: blocking, late: refining, image ready: done).
- The bundled scene is traced from /media/photos/mountain-ridges.jpg. For your own result, pass a scene whose lines and regions roughly follow the image, or keep the default as an illustrative placeholder and show the real image after done.
- Keep one per view. For a small inline indicator in a composer use the sm size with showReplay off.
- Do not use it for real progress where exact percentages matter: the timeline is paced by duration, not by your backend.

## Related

- [Text shimmer](https://uiarc.dev/components/text-shimmer/markdown): Show ongoing work with a calm light across the words.
- [Segmented control](https://uiarc.dev/components/segmented-control/markdown): Switch between a small set of related views.
- [Agent status](https://uiarc.dev/components/agent-status/markdown): A compact live status pill for a running AI agent: the agent's mark in a live ring, the current activity and an elapsed timer, opening into the steps so far.
- [Tool call](https://uiarc.dev/components/tool-call/markdown): A tool call row for agent transcripts: the tool's mark and the call in plain words, a live state while it runs, and the input and output a click away, with approval and retry when needed.

## Also in ai

- [Agent plan](https://uiarc.dev/components/agent-plan/markdown): The plan an agent writes before it acts: edit, reorder or add steps while it is a draft, then watch it work through them as a live checklist.
- [Agent timeline](https://uiarc.dev/components/agent-timeline/markdown): A compact timeline of one orchestrated agent run: the orchestrator and its subagents share a time axis, handoffs draw in between rows, and a playhead replays thinking, tool calls and waiting while the header counts time, tokens and cost. Hover a span for what it did, or click it to trace its handoff path.
- [Context window](https://uiarc.dev/components/context-window/markdown): An AI context window as a grid of 200 cells: the system prompt, tools, files, summary and messages fill it in order, a threshold row marks where compaction starts, and sending a message, attaching a file or compacting shows exactly how much still fits.
- [Reasoning block](https://uiarc.dev/components/reasoning-block/markdown): The collapsible thinking block of an AI reply. While the model thinks, a shimmering label counts the seconds and the latest reasoning streams underneath. When it finishes, it folds to "Thought for 7s" and opens to show the full reasoning as calm steps with headings.
- [Source cards](https://uiarc.dev/components/source-cards/markdown): A row of cited sources under an AI answer where cards stream in with real site marks while the model searches, the overflow collapses into a stack of favicons, hovering lifts a preview with the passage, and an inline [n] citation highlights its card.
- [Model card](https://uiarc.dev/components/model-card/markdown): A model details card where switching models rolls every price, limit and score in place, a token slider estimates monthly cost live, and benchmark bars show each model's rank on hover. Compare crossfades to a side-by-side table against any rival with the better values marked, and the card never changes size.
- [AI workflow](https://uiarc.dev/components/ai-workflow/markdown): A Linear-style AI workflow card where a Gmail trigger, a Claude step, a branch and Slack and Linear actions sit on one hairline rail, and a test run glides down it, opening each step's output inline. Steps are added from a compact command menu with real app marks.
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- [Image generation](https://uiarc.dev/components/image-generation/markdown): An image generation card where four images resolve as a pixel mosaic, from coarse colour blocks to full detail under a soft shimmer, each with its own progress ring. Pick one to upscale with a sweeping pixel band, vary or download it, with real provider marks and a built-in simulation.
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- [Smart form fill](https://uiarc.dev/components/smart-form-fill/markdown): A paste-to-fill form card where AI reads an email signature or messy notes and fills a contact field by field. Each value flashes in with a confidence dot, its source lights up in the pasted text, low-confidence guesses ask for review, and Undo puts the old values back.
- [Enrich column](https://uiarc.dev/components/enrich-column/markdown): An AI enrichment column for a data table, where one prompt runs down every row and each cell shimmers while it works, then settles into a value with its source or a failure you can retry.
- [Ticket router](https://uiarc.dev/components/ticket-router/markdown): A support ticket router where messages from Gmail, Intercom, Slack and Zendesk come in one at a time. An AI classifier labels each one with intent, sentiment and confidence, and the ticket moves into a team lane with an assignee. Low confidence tickets wait in a review lane, and one click there routes them to the suggested team.
- [Ask your data](https://uiarc.dev/components/ask-your-data/markdown): A natural language to chart card: you ask a question, PostgreSQL streams into a collapsible, syntax highlighted panel, the query runs with a rolling row count, and the answer builds as stacked bars, lines or a table, with a one line insight streamed in underneath.
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- [Provider status](https://uiarc.dev/components/provider-status/markdown): A status card for the AI providers your product depends on. Each row shows the provider's real mark, its health as an icon and label, p50 latency and a 30-day uptime bar with a tooltip for each day. An incident row expands into its timeline of updates, and the card checks again on a visible countdown.
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- [Image reveal](https://uiarc.dev/components/image-reveal/markdown): An image generation canvas where a soft, blurred preview made from the image's own colors sharpens top to bottom behind a soft-edged band. It works the way ChatGPT, Midjourney and Gemini show images forming, with fine film grain, a translucent progress pill and calm queued and error states.
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- [Pixel mascot](https://uiarc.dev/components/pixel-mascot/markdown): A pixel-art robot that shows what an AI assistant is doing. It idles, thinks, types, celebrates and errors in frame-stepped sprite animations, and stays crisp at every integer size from 24px to 192px.
- [Ghost mascot](https://uiarc.dev/components/ghost-mascot/markdown): A floating ghost mascot whose soft sheet ripples at the hem while it hovers. It blinks when idle, turns toward you to listen, fades a little translucent while thinking, draws a tiny pen line while writing, smiles with a sparkle when done and wobbles once on an error.
- [Cube mascot](https://uiarc.dev/components/cube-mascot/markdown): An isometric cube mascot where three shaded faces and a painted-on face show what the assistant is doing. It turns a quarter turn in eased steps while thinking, prints lines onto the floor while writing, settles with a sparkle when done, and shakes once on error.
- [Tone tuner](https://uiarc.dev/components/tone-tuner/markdown): A brand voice card where two sliders (formality and detail) and Friendly, Confident and Empathetic chips rewrite a customer reply. Each changed sentence crossfades in place, new words can be highlighted against the original, and Copy takes the current version.
- [Upgrade prompt](https://uiarc.dev/components/upgrade-prompt/markdown): An upgrade nudge for the moment someone hits a limit. It shows a usage meter at 50 of 50 AI credits, a rolling price with a monthly and yearly toggle, three concrete unlocks with real model marks, and Upgrade or Maybe later. Upgrading leads into a success state with the new limits, and the card never changes size between states.
- [Referral card](https://uiarc.dev/components/referral-card/markdown): A give-and-get referral card where people copy or share their invite link, invite friends by email as chips, and watch invites move from invited to signed up to earned, with the credit total counting up and a milestone reward unlocking.
- [Trial banner](https://uiarc.dev/components/trial-banner/markdown): A trial status banner where a ring counts down the days left, the copy names what the workspace loses, and the upgrade path is one click away. It comes as a slim banner, a sidebar card or a header pill. It shifts to a warning tone in the last days, has expired and upgraded states, and folds into the pill when dismissed or snoozed.
- [Team switcher](https://uiarc.dev/components/team-switcher/markdown): A workspace switcher like Linear, Vercel or Slack. The trigger shows the current workspace's logo and plan. The menu has search, your role in each workspace and a Cmd+1 to 9 shortcut for each, and lets you create or join a workspace inline. A highlight glides between rows, and switching crossfades the trigger through a short loading state.
- [Live visitors](https://uiarc.dev/components/live-visitors/markdown): A realtime visitors card where the live count rolls digit by digit, new arrivals ping in on a dotted world map, the top pages reorder with bars, and signups and upgrades tick in with country flags.
- [Social proof toast](https://uiarc.dev/components/social-proof-toast/markdown): A stack of social proof notifications for landing and pricing pages, where recent trials, upgrades and verified purchases from people and companies arrive every few seconds. The stack pauses and fans out on hover, and visitors can dismiss any toast.
- [Install snippet](https://uiarc.dev/components/install-snippet/markdown): A "get started in 30 seconds" card where framework tabs, three numbered steps and highlighted snippets take a developer from install to first event. Generate key wipes a fresh API key into the placeholder in place.

## Guidance for AI tools

Sketch to image: An image generation visual that paints the way an artist does. Pencil strokes sketch the scene, a round brush blocks in flat colors region by region, grain and warm light refine it, and it resolves into the finished photo, with crossfading stage labels and a thin progress line. Follow the declared prop types and do not invent props. Keep keyboard access, reduced motion support, and both light and dark themes intact when adapting it.

Full library index: https://uiarc.dev/llms.txt