Image to Pixel Art

Turn any photo into crisp pixel art with retro palettes (GameBoy, NES, Pico-8) — on a canvas, locally.

Pixelate any picture into crisp pixel art — free, in your browser, no upload. Snap to retro palettes like GameBoy, NES or Pico-8 and save a PNG.

About Image to Pixel Art

Image to Pixel Art is a free, browser-based tool that turns any photo into crisp, blocky pixel art by averaging each NxN block of pixels into one flat color, then optionally snapping those colors to a classic retro palette like GameBoy (DMG), NES, CGA, or Pico-8. You control the block size and palette, and download the result as a PNG. All processing happens locally on a canvas in your browser using a dependency-free ImageData pixelation routine — your image is never uploaded, and there is no signup.

How to use Image to Pixel Art

  1. Drop an image onto the upload area, or click to browse (any image/* file — PNG, JPG, WebP, etc.); it's loaded locally and scaled down to fit within 1024px.
  2. Drag the 'Pixel size' slider (2px to 32px blocks) to set how chunky the pixels are — bigger blocks mean a coarser, more retro look.
  3. Pick a palette with the Palette control: keep 'None' for the original colors, or choose GameBoy (DMG), NES (sample), CGA, or Pico-8 to snap every block to that retro set.
  4. Watch the live preview update on the canvas as you adjust the block size and palette.
  5. Click the 'PNG' download button to save your pixel art as <name>-pixel.png.

Frequently asked questions

Is my image uploaded to a server?
No. The image is read and pixelated entirely on a canvas in your browser, and the result stays on your device — nothing is ever uploaded.
Is it free and do I need an account?
Yes, it's completely free with no signup, account, or watermark.
Which retro palettes can I use?
Five options: None (keep original colors), GameBoy (DMG)'s four greens, an 8-color NES sample, 4-color CGA, and the full 16-color Pico-8 palette. When a palette is selected, each pixel block is snapped to its nearest matching color.
How does the pixel size slider work?
It sets the block size from 2px to 32px. The tool averages the colors in each square block and fills it with that single flat color, so a larger block size produces bigger, chunkier pixels and a more abstract result.
What image formats can I drop in, and is there a size limit?
Any standard browser image format (PNG, JPG, WebP, GIF, etc.) works since it accepts image/*. The image is automatically scaled to fit within 1024px before pixelation, and you only convert one image at a time.
What format is the output, and can I make it look sharp when scaled up?
The output is a downloadable PNG. The preview is rendered with nearest-neighbor (pixelated) scaling so the blocks stay crisp instead of blurring, preserving the hard-edged pixel-art look.

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