BlockPixelArt

Convert image to pixel art

Three decisions stand between your photo and pixel art: how big the blocks are, which colours are allowed, and whether to dither. This page walks through all three.

Drop an image here

Or choose a file. Your image is processed in your browser and never uploaded.

How to use it

  1. Start with the picture you already have

    Portraits, pets, landscapes, game screenshots — all work. Busy scenes lose the most detail, so if you have a choice, pick the image with one clear subject.

  2. Set the block size until the subject still reads

    Drag Pixel size up until the shapes go blocky, then back off one notch. The moment you can no longer tell what the picture is, you have gone one step too far.

  3. Try a palette, then judge it against Original

    Tap a preset and use Compare original to flip between them. A palette is what makes the result look like a game rather than a mosaic filter, but it is not always the right call.

  4. Turn dithering on only if bands appear

    Skies and skin tones are where flat colour reduction shows stair-stepping. Dithering trades those bands for texture. On flat illustrations it usually just adds noise.

  5. Download the size that matches the use

    Small is the real asset. Large is what you post. Both come from the same conversion, so you never have to choose before you see the result.

What people use it for

  • A profile picture that stands out

    Avatars are shown at 100px or less anyway, so the detail you lose was never visible. The blocky version reads better at that size than the photo did.

  • Turning a pet photo into a keepsake

    A 64px version of a dog prints, embroiders, and cross-stitches far better than a photograph, because every square is one flat colour.

  • Reference art for a game jam

    Convert the mood board before the jam starts, so the whole team is looking at the same resolution and colour count they will actually ship at.

  • Illustrations for a retro-styled slide deck

    One palette applied across every image in a deck does more for visual consistency than any font choice.

  • Learning what pixel art actually requires

    Watching a photo collapse into 16 colours teaches value grouping faster than reading about it does.

Why this one

  • You see the result while you decide

    Controls and canvas sit on one screen, so every change is visible immediately. Tools that make you scroll between the slider and the preview turn a two-minute job into guesswork.

  • Compare original is one click away

    Judging a conversion means flipping back and forth. Having the source overlaid on the result is the only honest way to tell whether you went too far.

  • Nothing is uploaded

    The picture is decoded and converted inside the page. That matters most for exactly the photos people most want to convert — family, kids, pets.

  • Presets are a starting point, not a cage

    Tap Game Boy to get somewhere instantly, then change any single control. The preset simply stops being highlighted; nothing gets locked.

  • Reversible from start to finish

    No step in the flow is destructive. Change the block size, swap palettes, undo an edit — the original file on your disk is never touched.

Frequently asked questions

How many colours should the result have?
Sixteen is the safest starting point — enough for shading, few enough to look deliberate. Four colours reads as Game Boy, and anything above sixty-four stops looking like pixel art at all.
My converted image looks muddy. What went wrong?
Usually the source had low contrast to begin with. Raise Contrast a little before judging the palette; colour reduction exaggerates a flat original rather than fixing it.
Should the blocks be square with the original pixels?
They already are. Block size divides the source evenly, so an art pixel always covers a whole number of source pixels — that is why edges stay crisp instead of shimmering.
Can I convert a screenshot?
Yes, and screenshots convert unusually well because they are already flat-shaded. Text will not survive, so crop it out before converting rather than fighting it afterwards.
Does converting reduce the file size?
The Small export usually does, dramatically, because there are only a handful of distinct colours left. The Large export can be bigger than the source, since it stores every enlarged block.

More pixel art tools

Same engine, same privacy, different job. Nothing here needs an account.