About the Photo to Pixel Art
This converter turns a photo into pixel art in two steps. First it shrinks the picture down to a small grid, so each block becomes one pixel. Then it blows that grid back up with smoothing switched off, which keeps every pixel a hard-edged square instead of a blurry blob.
The palette option is what sells the retro look. Full color keeps your original tones, while Game Boy squeezes everything into four shades of green, CGA uses the famous four color mode from early PCs, and the 8 bit and 16 color palettes mimic old consoles and pixel art tools.
Everything runs in your browser, so your photo is never uploaded. Export scale controls the size of the download: a 64 pixel image at 8x exports at 512 pixels wide, which is big enough for a profile picture.
How to use it
- Upload a photo, or drag one onto the box.
- Set the pixel size, then pick a palette.
- Choose an export scale and download the PNG.
Which pixel size to use
- 8 to 16 pixels: abstract blocks of color, good for avatars and icons.
- 32 pixels: a face is still recognizable, and it looks properly retro.
- 64 pixels: the sweet spot for most photos and profile pictures.
- 128 pixels and up: subtle, more like a stylized filter than pixel art.
About the palettes
- Game Boy: four greens, the look of a 1989 handheld screen.
- CGA: black, cyan, magenta and white, from early PC graphics.
- 4 shades of gray: clean monochrome, good for printing.
- 8 bit: a console-style spread of bold primary colors.
- 16 color: a modern pixel art palette with balanced skin and sky tones.
Photo to Pixel Art FAQ
- How do I pixelate an image?
- Upload it here and lower the pixel size slider. The tool reduces the image to that many pixels across, then scales it back up with hard edges so each pixel stays square.
- Is my photo uploaded to a server?
- No. The conversion happens entirely in your browser, and the photo never leaves your device.
- Can I use this for a profile picture?
- Yes. Try 64 pixels with an 8x export scale, which gives you a 512 pixel image that stays sharp on most platforms.
