Picture to Pixel Art
Convert any picture into pixel art with adaptive or retro palettes (Game Boy, NES, CGA), Floyd-Steinberg or ordered dithering, custom backgrounds, and 1×–8× export — all in your browser.
Upload Image
Add your image
Customize Pixel Art
Adjust pixel art style and settings
Download
Download your pixel art
Drag & drop your image here
or click to browse
Supports: JPG, PNG, WebP, GIF, BMP
Max file size: 20MB
Tips for better results
Quantises a custom palette from the input image.
Pixel Grid (Optional)
Overlay grid lines on each pixel.
Choose format and download your pixel art.
Higher scale = larger image size
Your files are secure and will be deleted automatically after processing.
Period palettes
Game Boy, NES, CGA + adaptive
Realtime preview
Adjust sliders, see results live
Browser-side
Files stay on your device
Picture to Pixel Art turns any image into a chunky pixel-art rendition. It downscales using nearest-neighbour, restricts the colour set to your chosen palette, and lets you finish with optional dithering and a pixel-grid overlay before exporting at 1x to 8x.
Pixel Size controls block chunkiness. Colors caps the palette breadth. Dithering decides how the limited palette tries to imitate smooth gradients — None gives clean blocks, Ordered yields textured retro, Floyd-Steinberg keeps detail but adds grain.
Use Transparent for sprite work, White or Custom Color for solid backdrops, and toggle Pixel Grid for design hand-offs that benefit from a visible grid.
Files stay on-device. For more pixel-friendly utilities visit Pixelate Image or Image Converter.
What does this tool do?
It downscales your image with nearest-neighbour sampling, quantises the colours into a chosen palette, and optionally applies dithering — producing a chunky pixel-art version of any photo or graphic.
Who would use a pixel-art generator?
Indie game developers wanting placeholder sprites, social media creators making retro posts, designers prototyping low-fi mockups, and educators showing how digital images compose pixels.
When should I increase the pixel size?
When you want a chunkier, more retro look. Smaller pixel sizes preserve more of the original detail; larger sizes mimic 8/16-bit consoles and Game Boy screens.
Where do the palettes come from?
Adaptive runs a quantiser on your image to find an optimal colour set. Game Boy, NES, CGA, Grayscale, Black & White, and Sepia are hard-coded period-accurate palettes.
What is dithering?
A trick for simulating extra colours by alternating two existing palette entries in a fine pattern. Floyd-Steinberg propagates error diagonally for a soft, photo-like feel; Ordered uses a regular Bayer matrix for a stylised retro grain.
How do the export scales work?
1x outputs at the pixelated resolution. 2x/4x/8x upscale with nearest-neighbour so each pixel becomes a sharp NxN block — perfect for printing or showing the art at a comfortable size on modern displays.