Turn an image into pixel art
Give a picture the look of a retro game sprite. Bigger blocks make it chunkier and fewer colour steps push it further back in time. Good for avatars, stream assets and social posts.
Block size and colour steps
Block size is the width of one "pixel"; 8-16 px reads convincingly as pixel art. Colour steps quantise each channel — drop to 4-8 steps for a NES or Game Boy feel. Push both hard and the subject stops being recognisable, so watch the preview.
What works and what does not
Bold subjects with clear outlines survive the treatment. Fine patterns and small text turn to mush. For portraits, aim for the face filling at least a third of the frame.
How this differs from the blur tool
Both average pixels in blocks, but the mosaic tool exists to hide a chosen area, while this one treats the whole image as a stylistic effect and also reduces the palette.
Frequently asked questions
Do I get an editable pixel-art file?
No — you get a normal image that looks like pixel art. If you need a genuinely tiny one-pixel-per-dot file, run the result through the resize tool.
How far can the palette be reduced?
Down to two steps per channel, which is roughly eight colours — a very extreme retro look.
Does it keep transparency?
Yes. Transparent areas stay transparent and the result is written as PNG.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes. It runs in mobile browsers on iOS and Android: pick a photo from your camera roll, edit it and save the result straight back to your device. iPhone HEIC files are read directly.
Are my photos uploaded anywhere?
No. Everything the page needs is loaded when you open it, and your photo is processed entirely on your own device. The image never crosses the network, so there is nothing to intercept and nothing stored on a server.