Turn a photo or illustration into a crisp pixel grid. Set the detail, compare color palettes and try dithering, then download a PNG with visible square pixels for your next graphic or visual experiment.
PICO-8 colors and dithering bring a meadow into an arcade world. Load it to adjust the settings, or upload your own.
Processed on your device. Plain text uses a monospace font; PNG keeps the chosen colors.
Real outputs made with this tool. Load a sample, then make it yours.
Basic tools and their normal exports stay free. Subscription effects use no credits; AI rendering uses 1, 2 or 3 credits per attempt.
Basic, Pro and Max include all six effects. No credits are charged. Your free tools and original exports stay available.
Applies to a snapshot scaled to at most 1024 pixels per side and 1 MiB. Video and animation use the current frame. Text remains unchanged.
Create an artwork above to use premium effects.
Finish your current artwork with AI. All accounts can use credits; a subscription is optional. For animation and video, only the current frame is used.
This action uploads a bounded image of your current result to our AI service. Your original text, frames and source remain unchanged. A new render uses the displayed credit cost. Check your credit history for any adjustments after a failed generation.
Create or load an artwork first.
A smaller grid simplifies the picture into larger shapes; a finer grid keeps more texture. Compare the source and pixel result to choose a size that preserves your subject without losing the blocky treatment you wanted.
Upload a JPG, PNG, WebP or GIF image, or load an example. Start with a subject whose outline you can recognize before reducing the available detail.
Choose the number of columns, select a palette and compare dithering on or off. Adjust brightness and contrast if important regions blend together.
Use the source comparison and zoom to check the result. Download the PNG when the subject reads well at both the full image size and a closer view.
Picture to pixel art conversion begins with the grid size. A small number of columns creates large, obvious blocks, while more columns preserve features such as eyes, lettering and the edge of an object.
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Keep sampled source colors or choose Game Boy, PICO-8, Grayscale or Black and white. A limited palette gives separate pictures a related visual language, while original colors retain more of a photograph’s familiar mood.
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Floyd–Steinberg dithering distributes color differences across neighboring pixels when using a limited palette. Try it for gradients and softer shadows, then compare it with the cleaner blocks produced when the option is turned off.
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Brightness and contrast influence which palette colors represent the picture. A modest adjustment can separate a dark subject from its background or retain a light face, especially when only a few colors describe the scene.
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The image to pixel workflow includes a source comparison so you can see what the smaller grid removes. Check the main silhouette first, then zoom closer to examine edges and color patterns in the result.
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The output is enlarged with smoothing disabled, keeping block edges visible in the PNG. This gives you a rendered image for sharing or composition, while the chosen grid remains the source of its pixel texture.
Try this workflowTo create pixel art from image material, you need choices about simplification rather than a single fixed filter. Grid, palette and tone controls help you decide which shapes and colors define the final piece.
Preserve the silhouette before adding finer texture. Choose a grid that communicates the picture at the size where people will see it.
Use a named palette when you want a consistent mood across images. Compare source colors when the original color identity matters more.
Switch dithering on and off for the same picture. Keep the choice that supports the subject instead of treating extra texture as automatic improvement.
Download a rendered image with crisp block edges. Use it in a layout that respects the visible grid and chosen color treatment.
The tool samples your picture into a smaller grid, then applies the selected color treatment to those cells. It enlarges that grid without smoothing so the square pixels remain visible.
Choose a limited palette such as PICO-8, Game Boy, Grayscale or Black and white. The converter replaces sampled colors with nearby colors from that set.
PNG to pixel art conversion works well with simple symbols and clear outlines. Reduce the grid, then inspect whether the shape and lettering remain recognizable. Fine typography may need more columns; transparent source areas stay transparent in the exported PNG.
Begin with a close view of the main subject and enough columns to describe its outline. If small features disappear, increase the grid detail; if the image looks too photographic, reduce it gradually until the block treatment is visible without obscuring the subject.
Original keeps the sampled colors instead of replacing them with a named limited set. The image is still reduced to the chosen grid and enlarged with visible pixel blocks.
Dithering can help suggest intermediate tones when a limited palette has only a few choices. It is useful to compare on gradients, skin tones and soft shadows.
Dithering is applied during quantization to a limited palette, where a sampled color must be replaced by one of the available choices. Original does not restrict those colors to a named set.
It gives an existing picture a pixel grid and palette treatment. A small sprite also depends on a deliberate silhouette and the target game’s size requirements, so inspect the result carefully before using it.
The workspace offers between twelve and two hundred columns, with rows derived from the source proportions and bounded by the conversion. The PNG is an enlarged rendering of that grid, rather than a download with one output pixel per cell.
Yes. The converter preserves source transparency through sampling and PNG export, including partially transparent edges. Transparent areas may look solid against the preview surface; check the downloaded PNG on your intended background before placing it in a design.
Smoothing blends neighboring blocks and can soften the pixel appearance you selected. When crisp edges matter, use a resizing method that preserves the grid, such as nearest neighbor, and inspect the result.
The grid sampling, color mapping and PNG creation happen in your browser. Choose your source, compare the settings and export the result during the current session.
Choose a source, compare grids and palettes, then export the blocky interpretation you want to use.
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