City at sunset
A landscape with a clear silhouette
19 colors used · 20-color limit · nearest · no dithering
32 columns keep the skyline bold; no dithering keeps the sky in clear bands.
Image → pixel art, entirely in your browser
Pixel Art Converter
Convert an image or photo to pixel art with a grid. Choose a visual style, adjust colors or individual pixels, then download a sharp PNG or a printable PDF chart with coordinates and a color list.
Free to usePrivate local processingNo signup
Live converter
Build a clear pixel-art draft
Loading sample…
Pixel art result—
Pixel art
Before
Sample: Wikipe-tan face by Kasuga / Actam · CC BY-SA 3.0. Pixel conversions share this license. Credit & license.
Use Before / After to inspect changes. Your downloads always use the full pixel-art result.
— grid— actual colors— pixels
Read this conversion
The sample is loading.
- Palette & texture
- —
- Transparent cells
- —
Choose clean PNG for artwork, grid PNG to inspect cells, or PDF for a printable coordinate chart.
Edit individual pixels
Refine individual pixels
Turn on Edit pixels, choose a tool and color, then tap or drag on the result. Focus the canvas: arrow keys move, Space acts, B/E/F/I select brush, erase, fill, or pick.
Turn on editing to adjust the converted grid before export.
Inspect actual palette
Actual palette
Colors used in this conversion, with cell counts.
One source. Four visual directions.
Choose a pixel-art style, not just a pixel size
Compare a neutral conversion with four color and detail treatments of the same anime illustration. These are actual converter outputs, not hand-redrawn game sprites. All use Average sampling; grid size and color choices are shown for each result.
Original illustration
960×960 · same source for every style
Large shapes and a close crop leave more pixels for the face. Busy scenes and small subjects may need a closer crop first.
Download source illustration
Natural
96×96 · 32 colors used
32-color limit · no dithering
Original colors, readable shapes. A neutral starting point for your own image.
Cozy 16-bit
96×96 · 20 colors used
24-color limit · no dithering
Warm highlights and cool shadows, with gentle detail simplification. Try it on flat illustrations.
Arcade 16
64×64 · 10 colors used
16-color limit · no dithering
Bold PICO-8 colors and flat blocks. The fixed palette can shift skin tones.
Dungeon Toon
64×64 · 15 colors used
16-color limit · no dithering
Muted colors, simplified details and dark edge accents. It does not redraw character proportions.
Handheld 4
64×64 · 4 colors used
4-color limit · Atkinson
Four green luminance levels with Atkinson texture. Strong retro color, less detail.
Wikipe-tan face: Kasuga (original), Actam (vector) · original source · CC BY-SA 3.0. Pixel conversions share the same license. No endorsement implied. Download credit & license.
Which style should I start with?
Start with Natural to retain source colors. Try Cozy for a warm/cool illustration palette, Arcade for bold fixed colors, Dungeon for muted dark edges, or Handheld for four green tones. Style cards in the converter use your current image; the buttons in this comparison load the illustrated sample instead.
Does this redraw my image like a game character?
No. These presets change resolution, colors, texture and local detail. They do not invent missing features, redraw anatomy, or reproduce an official game's art pipeline. Switch to Custom settings or edit individual pixels when the automatic result needs refinement.
Photo to pixel art: choose your settings
Start with 64 columns, a 16-color limit, Average sampling and no dithering for a photo like this one. Then change one setting at a time. Fewer columns make bolder shapes; more colors preserve more shades; dithering trades flat color bands for texture.
One photograph, four actual outputs from this converter. The full frame, Average sampling, Auto palette and neutral brightness, contrast and saturation stay the same. No manual pixel edits.
Photo: Chelsea the cat by Stefan van der Walt, via scikit-image · CC0. Download source photo.
Each preset loads this sample photo, not your uploaded image. Confirm before replacing manual edits.
Bold shapes
32×21 · 16 colors used
16-color limit · no dithering
32 columns simplify the face. Small details such as whiskers merge into larger blocks.
More detail
64×43 · 16 colors used
16-color limit · no dithering
Compare with Bold shapes: doubling the columns gives the eyes and nose more room, without raising the color limit.
More colors
64×43 · 32 colors used
32-color limit · no dithering
Compare with More detail: 32 colors give the fur more shades, but create a longer color list to work with.
Dithered texture
64×43 · 16 colors used
16-color limit · Atkinson
Compare with More detail: Atkinson breaks up color bands with a speckled texture. It is not extra detail from the photo.
What should I change first?
- Eyes or outlines disappear
- Crop closer to the subject before increasing the grid width. A busy background spends pixels on things you may not need. Open crop controls
- The result looks noisy
- Set dithering to None and compare. Dithering adds texture; it does not recover missing detail. Find dithering
- Shadows become broad bands
- Try a higher color limit first. If you need a small palette, compare Atkinson with no dithering and choose the texture you prefer. Find color limit
- I need exactly 32×32 pixels
- Crop to a square, then set 32 columns. Width alone does not make a rectangular photo square; height follows the crop ratio. Find grid width
Judge the shape at its intended viewing size, then inspect the enlarged cells. These settings are a starting point for this photograph, not a promise that every photo will look the same.
See the trade-offs before uploading
Image to pixel art: before and after
Four original illustrations, converted by this tool with the settings shown. Each Try button loads the same source and preset; edits to your own draft require confirmation. These are reproducible examples, not before-and-after photo claims.
Geometric emblem
A simple logo-style illustration
4 colors used · 8-color limit · nearest · no dithering
A square source makes a 32 × 32 grid. Nearest sampling preserves the hard edges.
Transparent plant
A sprite with transparent space
4 colors used · PICO-8 palette · nearest · no dithering · 737 transparent cells
PICO-8 maps the plant to a fixed palette; empty cells remain transparent.
Light and shading
A shaded illustration, not a photograph
16 colors used · 16-color limit · average · Atkinson dithering
64 columns and Atkinson dithering distribute a limited palette across a smooth gradient.
From image to a buildable grid
Make a pixel art grid with numbers
MyBeadPattern turns an uploaded image into a colored cell grid. Select Grid / printable chart to inspect cell boundaries, then choose Preview PDF chart to see printable coordinates and the palette legend before downloading. The converter runs in your browser; it is an image converter, not a text-to-image AI generator.
Need a 16×16 or 32×32 grid?
Crop to a square in Frame & clean source, then set width to 16 or 32. Height follows the crop’s aspect ratio: a 4:3 image at 32 columns produces 32×24, not 32×32. Use the exact-column input for sizes between the presets.
Need every cell labeled?
Color PDFs split the grid into tiles of up to 64×64 cells. Numbers appear when printed cells are at least 10 points wide. For a dense grid, choose Ink-saving symbols + codes: tiles of up to 32×32 keep the symbols readable, with a matching color list. This style supports up to 64 colors actually used.
Need accurate craft colors?
Pixel art colors are RGB values, not bead or thread color codes. For Perler projects, continue the edited grid in the bead editor. It maps colors to your chosen bead brand; check the physical colors before building.
Choose what you need next
One edited grid. Four useful file types.
| Format | Best for | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Clean PNG | Artwork, sprites, digital reference | Actual grid size, 8×, 16× or source dimensions. Choose transparent or white. Integer scales keep equal-size pixels. |
| Grid PNG | Inspecting enlarged cells | Cell boundaries, not printed color numbers. Auto-enlarged at an integer scale; separate from clean PNG. |
| PDF chart | Printing on A4 or US Letter | Coordinates, color cells or symbols, tiled pages and actual-color counts. Preview every chart and palette page first. |
| Project JSON | Continuing an edit later | Exact grid, editable palette and transparent cells. No original photo, source settings or Undo history. Open locally in this tool. |
Working limits: 8–160 columns, up to 600 rows / 96,000 cells; automatic palettes up to 64 colors; manually edited palettes up to 256. PNG export is capped at 16,384 pixels on either side and 32 million pixels total. Project imports: up to 2 MB. A bead-editor transfer supports up to 90,000 cells.
How to use an image to pixel art converter
Keep the important shapes, then reduce the rest
For a photo to pixel art result, use Frame & clean source to crop toward the subject after uploading. A smaller grid works best when the silhouette and contrast carry the idea; increase the width only when the extra pixels protect a meaningful feature.
Use Nearest for logos and crisp illustration edges. Use Average when a photo needs broader color blocks. A color limit is a design decision: fewer colors simplify the image, while a larger palette preserves more shading.
- Set width first. It establishes how much visual information can survive.
- Lower colors deliberately. Check the visible palette and counts, not just the requested limit.
- Inspect and edit. Compare the shape, then paint individual cells if an important edge needs repair.
- Export the right view. Use clean PNG for artwork, grid PNG to inspect cells, or the PDF chart for coordinates and color counts.
Grid width and color limit
Grid width sets the horizontal cell count; height follows the source aspect ratio. Try 32 for bold shapes, then increase it only if an important edge disappears. Color limit is a maximum, not a promise of that many colors: a fixed Game Boy palette can never use more than its four available colors.
Palette and dithering
Auto palette takes colors from this image. PICO-8, Game Boy and 1-bit constrain the result to a fixed look. Off keeps flat regions; Floyd–Steinberg spreads quantization error for smoother tonal transitions; Atkinson spreads less error for a crisper texture. Sierra smooths gradients across a wider neighborhood; Stucki uses a broad, soft spread; Burkes balances that spread within two rows.
Source preparation and transparency
The optional brightness, contrast and saturation controls change the sampled source before palette reduction. Crop selects an exact source-preview rectangle before conversion; edge cleanup can make similarly colored border-connected pixels transparent, but it is not AI subject segmentation. Source transparency can be kept or filled white. Edge cleanup can clear a chosen border-connected background color, but it does not automatically identify a subject or remove every photo background.
Compare and edit pixels
The preview starts with the full pixel-art result. Choose Before / After to reveal the source beside it, then drag the divider or use the arrow keys to inspect shapes. Before uses the same crop and edge cleanup; for a restored project it shows the saved grid, not the original photo. Comparison changes the preview only, never your exported artwork. Editing supports brush, erase, connected-area fill, color pick, custom palette colors, and replace-all; changing conversion settings rebuilds the draft and resets manual edits.
PNG and PDF chart exports
The clean PNG keeps only artwork pixels; grid PNG enlarges cells for inspection; the PDF adds coordinates and an actual-color legend.
Answers for real projects
Pixel art converter FAQ
Choose the grid and export that fit your next step. These answers describe what this tool actually does—and where its limits are.
Is this pixel art converter free and online?
Yes. You can use it in your browser without signing up or installing an app. Your source image is processed on your device; uploading it to our server is not part of this conversion.
How do I turn a photo or image into pixel art?
Upload a PNG, JPG, WebP or GIF—or start with the sample. Set a grid width and color limit, compare the result with the original, then download a PNG or printable PDF chart. Crop toward the subject first if the photo has too much background.
Can I make 16×16 or 32×32 pixel art?
Use the 16 or 32 grid-width preset. Height follows the cropped image’s aspect ratio, so crop to a square first for a square result. The converter allows 8–160 columns, up to 600 rows and 96,000 cells; crop or lower the width if a tall image exceeds those limits.
Why is my downloaded PNG larger than the pixel grid?
The default clean PNG enlarges each grid cell 8× so the result is easier to view. Choose Actual grid size under PNG size if you need one image pixel per cell; you can also choose 16× or the source image dimensions. The grid PNG is a separate enlarged view with cell boundaries.
Can I get a pixel art grid with numbers?
Yes. Show grid lines while reviewing, download a grid PNG for visible cell boundaries, or choose the PDF chart for row and column coordinates plus an actual-color list. Choose color cells with numbers or ink-saving symbols with codes; symbol charts support at most 64 colors actually used. Very dense color charts may put numbers in the palette legend instead of each cell.
How should I choose a color limit or palette?
Start with Auto and lower the color limit until the main shape still reads clearly. The number is a maximum; the result may use fewer colors. PICO-8, Game Boy and 1-bit are fixed palettes when you want a more constrained look.
What does dithering change in a photo-to-pixel-art result?
Dithering distributes color error to suggest tones between palette colors. Leave it Off for flat regions and crisp logos; try Floyd–Steinberg for fine texture or Atkinson for a sharper pattern. Compare the source and result before deciding—more texture is not always clearer.
How can I make a muddy photo conversion clearer?
Crop closer to the subject, reduce the grid width, then adjust the color limit. Try Average sampling for broad photo color blocks or Nearest for hard illustration edges. The optional contrast control can help separate shapes before colors are reduced.
Can the PNG have a transparent background?
Yes, if the source has transparency, choose Keep transparent. For a solid border background, you can pick a color and clear matching areas connected to an image edge. This is not automatic subject cutout and may also clear similarly colored parts of the subject.
Can I edit individual pixels after conversion?
Turn on Edit pixels to brush, erase, fill a connected area, pick a color, or replace one color across the grid. Undo and redo are available. Changing the source or conversion settings rebuilds the draft and clears manual edits after a warning.
Should I export a clean PNG, grid PNG or PDF?
Use the clean PNG for the artwork itself. Use grid PNG when you need enlarged cells and boundaries. Use the PDF chart for printable coordinates and the colors actually used; its symbol style supports up to 64 used colors, while Color cells + numbers remains available above that limit. These are different views of the same edited grid.
Can I use the result as a Minecraft pixel art guide?
You can use the grid PNG or coordinate PDF as a visual building reference. This tool does not match colors to Minecraft blocks or export a world file or schematic, so choose blocks separately.
Can I turn this pixel art into a Perler bead pattern?
Use Continue edited grid → bead editor for a grid of at most 90,000 cells. The transfer keeps positions and transparency in this tab, but maps source RGB to the selected bead brand’s nearest available colors, so hues may change. Larger grids can still export PNG or PDF; crop or lower grid width to transfer them. For a fresh conversion from the original photo, use the photo-to-bead converter.
Does the image-to-pixel-art tool work on a phone?
Yes. The upload, settings, mobile comparison preview and export controls are available on narrow screens. How downloaded files are saved depends on your mobile browser. Large images may take longer, and a result above 600 rows or 96,000 cells is rejected; crop the source or lower grid width to continue.
Can I save my pixel art and edit it later?
Yes. Select Save project to download a .pixel-art.json file, then Open project to restore the exact cells, colors and transparency. The file leaves out the original image, conversion settings and Undo history. Keep the download: this converter does not automatically save your work in an account or cloud storage. Import validates the file before replacing your current grid.
Why does the exported PNG look blurry or have uneven pixels?
Choose Actual grid size, 8× or 16× for an integer pixel scale. The Source image dimensions option preserves the crop’s original output dimensions, which may not divide evenly by the pixel grid. When displaying the PNG elsewhere, avoid smooth resampling and use a whole-number scale where possible.
For a QR craft project, start from the link or text in the Perler bead QR code maker instead of pixelating a QR screenshot. It preserves whole modules, includes the light border and checks the actual exported image.
Built and maintained by MyBeadPattern. Examples include original procedural illustrations, a CC0 photograph, and a CC BY-SA anime illustration. Sources and licenses appear alongside each set. All outputs use this converter’s processing pipeline, not promised results for every image. Tool and guide updated . Report a problem · Privacy details.