A long time ago I wrote stippler and put the source on my blog. However, it was pretty user-hostile software and doesn't even build with current versions of Linux without modification. That's why I'm gratified to see StippleGen 2, free software (LGPLv2.1+) that performs a similar function but with a nice-looking user interface. I haven't tried it myself, but if you are interested in making this kind of art it surely warrants a look.