JPG to DDS Converter
Make a DDS texture from a photograph, a scanned pattern or a screenshot saved as JPG. Size the image for the GPU, convert, and drop the .dds into your mod folder.
Image Converter
or drop JPG, JPEG, JPE … files here ·
Max 95 MB per file· Up to 20 files· Deleted after 30 minutes
Files are processed on our servers and deleted after 30 minutes.
85 keeps photos visually identical to the original. Lower it only when you need a smaller file.
JPG, BMP and EPS have no transparency. Transparent pixels are filled with this color.
Hex color used behind transparent pixels, e.g. #FFFFFF.
This format holds a single image. Choose GIF or WebP output if you want to keep the animation.
A multi-size icon contains several resolutions in one file; browsers and operating systems pick the one they need.
Keep the original dimensions, or enter one side and the aspect ratio is kept.
Pixels for the side you chose above.
Percentage of the original dimensions.
sRGB is right for screens and the web. Keep the original for print workflows; grayscale discards color.
Metadata only, 0 keeps the original value. Printers and some portals read this number; it does not change pixel dimensions.
How to use this tool
- 1
Upload the JPG photos
Add up to 20 .jpg or .jpeg files, 95 MB each, by dragging them onto the upload area or choosing them from a folder.
- 2
Set the texture width
Open Advanced settings and use Resize output image with Set width to reach 512, 1024, 2048 or 4096 px. Crop to the right aspect ratio beforehand so the height lands on a power of two as well.
- 3
Convert and install
Press Convert to DDS, download the files and copy them into the folder the game or mod expects, using the same file names as the textures you replace.
A JPG is made for viewing; a DDS is made for the graphics card. Converting stores your photo in the block-compressed layout games load straight into video memory.
JPG to DDS for photo textures in game mods
Microsoft introduced DirectDraw Surface with DirectX 7 in 1999, and the format is still what many PC games ship their textures in. The reason is speed: a DDS can hold data already compressed in a format the GPU decodes in hardware, so the engine copies it into video memory without unpacking it first.
Photos are the natural raw material for realistic textures. Modders photograph brick walls, wood grain, road signs and posters, or take a picture from a phone, and turn them into in-game surfaces.
The numbers below explain why textures are sized the way they are. Block compression always works on 4 × 4 pixel tiles, and the mip chain (a series of half-size copies the GPU uses at a distance) adds about a third to the texture's memory.
- pixel block that BC compression encodes as one unit
- 4 × 4
- per pixel in BC1 (DXT1), the usual choice for opaque textures
- 4 bits
- per pixel in BC3 (DXT5) and BC7
- 8 bits
- memory added by a full mip chain
- +33%
JPG
JPEG image
JPEG (or JPG) is the most widely used photo format, standardised by the Joint Photographic Experts Group in 1992. It uses lossy compression that discards fine detail the eye is unlikely to notice, which keeps photos small enough for the web, email and phone storage. It handles smooth gradients and natural scenes well, but sharp text, line art and flat colours pick up visible blocky or fuzzy artefacts. JPEG has no transparency and no animation, and every re-save loses a little more quality. Every browser, phone, camera and image editor can open it.
- Compression
- Lossy
- Transparency
- No
- Animation
- No
- Introduced
- 1992 · Joint Photographic Experts Group
DDS
DirectDraw Surface
DDS is a Microsoft texture format introduced with DirectX 7 in 1999. It stores images in GPU-ready block compression schemes such as DXT/BCn, along with mipmaps and cube maps, so graphics cards can use them without decoding. Block compression is lossy and can show artefacts in gradients, though uncompressed DDS also exists. It is common in PC games and game mods but unsupported by browsers and most everyday image viewers.
- Compression
- Lossy or lossless
- Transparency
- Yes
- Animation
- No
- Introduced
- 1999 · Microsoft
JPG to DDS is how a photograph becomes a game asset: modders take a picture of a real surface, poster or sign and pack it into the GPU-ready format that engines such as Fallout 4 or Microsoft Flight Simulator read from disk.
Prepare a photo for DDS: crop, size, convert, test
Crop to a texture ratio
Most textures are square or 2 : 1. Cut the photo to that shape first so resizing does not leave an odd height.
Resize to a power of two
Set the width to 1024, 2048 or 4096 px. Bigger is not always better: a 4096 px texture uses four times the memory of a 2048 px one.
Convert and load
Convert to DDS, place the file where the original texture lived and check it in game at different distances.
Compression, mipmaps and what this converter decides for you
DDS covers several compression formats. BC1, known as DXT1, is the compact choice for opaque color textures, which is exactly what a JPG photo becomes since JPG has no alpha. BC3 (DXT5) adds a full alpha channel, and BC7, introduced with Direct3D 11, gives higher quality at the same 8 bits per pixel but only runs in games built for it.
This converter does not expose compression type or mip count; it writes the DDS with its own defaults. When a mod's install notes call for a specific format, such as BC7 with a full mip chain, test the look here, then do the final export with Microsoft's texconv, Paint.NET or the NVIDIA exporter.
JPG to DDS FAQ
Does a JPG make a good source for a DDS texture?
It works, with one caveat: the photo is compressed twice, first by JPEG and then by the GPU block compression inside the DDS. Use the largest, least compressed JPG you have, ideally a camera original at high quality, so the second step has clean pixels to work with.
Why should texture sizes be a power of two?
Mipmapping halves the image repeatedly, and 1024, 512, 256 and so on divide cleanly all the way down. Many engines and older graphics cards also require it, and block compression needs at least a multiple of 4 on each side. A 1000 × 750 photo may load as a black or stretched surface in an older game.
Can I choose DXT1, DXT5 or BC7 when converting JPG to DDS?
No. The converter has no compression or mipmap selector and writes the DDS with its own defaults. When a mod guide specifies an exact format or mip count, use Microsoft's texconv, Paint.NET or NVIDIA Texture Tools Exporter for the final export.
Will the DDS have an alpha channel?
A JPG has no transparency, so there is nothing to carry over: the texture is fully opaque. If you need cut-out edges for foliage or decals, start from a PNG with transparency and use PNG to DDS instead.
Can I convert a phone photo into a painting or poster texture for a game?
Yes, that is a typical use. Crop the photo to the frame's proportions with crop image, resize it to a power-of-two width, convert it here, and replace the poster or painting texture the mod points to.
How do I check a DDS before loading the game?
Open it in Paint.NET, GIMP 2.10 or newer, or a texture viewer, and confirm the dimensions and orientation. If you only need a quick look, DDS to PNG turns it back into a normal image any viewer shows.