How to make pixel art from a photo
- Choose a photo; one clear subject on a simple background works best.
- Set Pixels across (8–256): fewer means chunkier, more means more detail.
- Pick the colours: Full, Retro or 8-bit, then download the PNG.
Colour modes
- Full: keeps the photo's colours, just blockier.
- Retro: 4 levels per colour channel, up to 64 colours, for a classic console look.
- 8-bit: 2 levels per channel, only 8 bold colours, for a very graphic poster style.
Example
With the default 48 pixels across, a 4:3 photo becomes a 48 × 36 grid of blocks. The download scales each block up to an exact 25 × 25 pixel square, giving a 1200 × 900 PNG with perfectly sharp edges, ready for an avatar, a sticker or a print.
Tips
- For avatars and stickers, use a square photo and 32–64 pixels across.
- Crop tightly around the subject first with Crop image; empty background wastes pixels.
- PNG keeps the blocks sharp. If you convert it to JPG, the edges can smudge.