A new image analysis technique is proposed for the evaluation of local anisotropy and its variability in stochastic texture images. It utilizes the gradient function to provide information on local anisotropy, from two-dimensional (2-D) density images for foil materials like polymer sheets, nonwoven textiles, and paper. Such images can be captured by radiography or light-transmission; results are reported for a range of paper structures, and show that the proposed technique is more robust to unfavorable imaging conditions than other approaches. The method has potential for on-line application to monitoring and control of anisotropy and its variability, as well as local density itself, in continuous manufacturing processes.