Pixel art from photos — settings guide
Tune Artgen's photo-to-pixel-art tool — pixel size, palette size, dithering — plus sprite-size tips and what the output can't do.
Tool page: photo to pixel art converter. It's a free fixed effect (sign-in, no credits) that splits your image into an even grid, averages each block, and reduces it to a palette picked from your image.
Pixel art from photo: settings
| Setting | Options | Default | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pixel size | 4–32 (resized-image pixels per block edge) | 8 | Bigger = chunkier, more retro. Smaller = more detail. |
| Palette colors | 8, 16, 32 | 16 | Picked from your image (median-cut), not a preset palette. |
| Dithering | Off / On (Floyd–Steinberg) | Off | On smooths gradients with a grainy dot pattern; Off gives clean flat areas. |
Recipes
- Avatar / icon: pixel size 8–12, 16 colors, dithering off. Crop to the face first.
- Chunky retro look: pixel size 16+, 8 colors, dithering off.
- Landscape or sky gradient: pixel size 4–8, 32 colors, dithering on.
- Keep a face recognizable: smaller blocks and more colors; large blocks erase features.
Working out sprite sizes
Images are resized to at most 512 px on the longest edge before conversion; smaller images are not enlarged. The number of blocks along an edge is that resized edge divided by the pixel size, rounded up:
| Pixel size | Blocks across a 512 px edge |
|---|---|
| 8 | 64 |
| 16 | 32 |
| 32 | 16 |
So for a 32×32-style look on an image resized to 512×512, use pixel size 16. For a 16×16 look, use 32. The output PNG stays at the resized image size — each block is drawn at its pixel size, not shrunk to one pixel. Blocks at the edges may be smaller if the dimensions don't divide evenly.
What it doesn't do
- No transparency. Output is one opaque PNG; transparent areas become white. Remove the background in another editor if you need a sprite.
- No animation frames, sprite sheets, vector files, or bead / cross-stitch patterns.
For a newly drawn pixel-style image instead of a faithful conversion, switch the tool to AI reimagine (uses credits). It won't guarantee an even grid or set palette.
Troubleshooting
- Mushy subject → crop tighter, use a simpler background, lower the pixel size.
- Banding in skies → turn dithering on or go to 32 colors.
- Too noisy → turn dithering off.
Related
ASCII art guide — settings, width and pasting
Get clean ASCII art from an image: columns, invert, picking photos, and pasting into a GitHub README, terminal or X without breaking.
Print effects — cyanotype, risograph, pointillism, pop art
What each setting does in Artgen's cyanotype, risograph, pointillism and pop art effects, and how to prepare the PNG for printing.