pixelartmakerStep-by-step guide to converting any image to pixel art. Learn which pixel size, palette and dithering settings work best for portraits, landscapes and game assets.
Converting an image to pixel art looks effortless once you know what every slider does. Here's the workflow we use to get clean, professional pixel art from any photo or illustration with the free Image to Pixel Art Converter — plus exactly which settings to use for portraits, landscapes, game sprites and Minecraft blueprints.
1. Choosing the right source image
Pixel art is creative simplification. Source images that are already simple convert beautifully; busy scenes turn to mud. Look for: a clear subject, strong contrast against the background, and reasonably simple shapes. A portrait against a plain wall converts brilliantly. A crowd scene at golden hour does not.
2. Pixel size — the most important setting
Pixel size controls how chunky the result looks. The sweet spot for most conversions is 8–16px, where images stay recognisable while achieving an authentic retro aesthetic. Smaller pixel sizes retain more detail; larger sizes feel more abstract and stylised.
- 2–4px — barely pixelated, subtle retro effect for social media.
- 6–10px — classic video game look. Best for sprites, avatars, emotes.
- 12–20px — bold, chunky, recognisable. Thumbnails, icons, prints.
- 24–48px — abstract mosaic. Art prints, backgrounds.
- 48px+ — maximum impact. Posters, large-format prints.
3. Should you use a color palette?
Limited palettes are what make pixel art feel authentic. Real retro hardware had brutal constraints — the NES could show 25 of 54 colors on screen; the Game Boy had four shades of green-grey; Pico-8 has 16 carefully chosen colors. Using one of these palettes forces the converter to use only those colors, producing the cohesive, intentional look that photos can't naturally have.
Rule of thumb: try Pico-8 first. Its 16 colors are designed to look great together. Move to Sweetie-16 or DB32 if you need more nuance. Pick Game Boy or NES for authentic platform tributes. Leave the palette set to 'None' if you want a colourful, photographic pixel result instead of a retro one.
4. Dithering — when to use it
Floyd-Steinberg dithering scatters two colors in a pattern to fake a third, smoothing gradients when you reduce a photo to a small palette. Use it for: soft gradients (sky, skin, water), very limited palettes, and that painterly retro look. Skip it for: sharp logos, icons, cartoon-style art, or whenever you want a cleaner modern pixel look.
5. Settings for specific use cases
Avatar (Discord, X): 8px pixel size, Pico-8 or Sweetie-16 palette, dithering on, +15 contrast. Game sprite: 8–16px, no palette (so engine post-processing has full color), no dithering. Print art: 24–32px, DB32 palette, dithering on. Minecraft blueprint: pixel size matched to your build width, no dithering, palette set to Minecraft (use the dedicated Minecraft tool for accurate block matching).
6. Downloading and using your pixel art
Download Small gives you the raw pixel grid — perfect for game engines that handle their own scaling. Download Large gives you the upscaled version, ready for social media or print. Both are clean PNGs with no watermarks. Always use PNG: JPEG compression artefacts destroy the sharp edges that define pixel art.