Pixel art converter
Pick a picture, choose how big each pixel block should be and, if you like, limit the picture to a small palette of colours. The small image is enlarged with sharp edges, so every block stays crisp. Everything happens in your browser.
Runs in your browser: nothing you enter is sent anywhere.
How to use it
- Choose a picture.
- Drag Block size until the pixel grid looks right.
- Choose a colour limit, or keep all colours for a smooth tone.
- Choose the output pixel size: the same size as the original, or a fixed number of pixels per block.
- Press Download PNG.
How it works
First the picture is divided into square blocks, and each block is replaced by the average of its pixels (weighted by transparency). A 2 × 2 patch of red, green, blue and black averages to (64, 64, 64), because (255 + 0 + 0 + 0) / 4 = 63.75 rounds to 64 in each channel.
Next, when a colour limit is chosen, median cut builds the palette from those block colours and each block is snapped to the nearest palette colour by squared distance in RGB. Two black and two white pixels with a limit of 2 colours keep black and white; with 1 colour they become grey (128, 128, 128). Palette swatches are shown below the preview, ordered from dark to light.
Finally the grid is enlarged without smoothing. With “same size as the original”, every block is drawn at its block size, so the output matches the original unless the picture size is not a multiple of the block size.
Tips
- Start with 8–16 colours for a retro game look and 4 for a console-style palette.
- Simple pictures with clear shapes convert better than busy photos; try a larger block first.
- Photos often look best after a small crop that centres the subject.
Frequently asked questions
What does block size mean?
The number of original pixels that become one big pixel. With blocks of 8 a 1000 × 800 picture becomes a grid of 125 × 100 pixels. Larger blocks give a coarser look. The size ranges from 2 to 128.
How is each pixel's colour chosen?
It is the average colour of all original pixels inside the block, so thin details blend into the neighbours instead of being skipped. Transparent areas are not averaged in as black; they stay transparent.
How does the palette reduction work?
The tool uses median cut. It puts the colours in a box, repeatedly splits the box with the widest range of red, green or blue at its median, and each final box becomes one palette colour, the average of its colours. Then every pixel takes the nearest palette colour. Large pictures are sampled evenly (up to 40,000 pixels) to build the palette quickly.
Why does the saved image look sharp?
The small grid is enlarged with nearest-neighbour scaling, which copies pixels instead of blending them. If the output would be larger than 8192 px on its longest side the scale is lowered automatically.
Can I get a tiny file?
Yes. Choose 1 px per block to download the actual small pixel-art image, for example 125 × 100 px, and enlarge it in any editor or game engine with nearest-neighbour scaling.