ABOUT THE TOOL
Small grids.
Honest results.
PixelPress is an independent, free image-to-pixel-art converter operated by Mason Payne. It is designed for quick experiments, sprite starting points, avatars and craft references. It does not use generative AI and does not claim to replace hand-drawn pixel art.
How conversion works
The browser resamples your image to the selected width while preserving its aspect ratio. A chosen palette maps each pixel to the closest available RGB color. Optional ordered dithering adds a repeating 4×4 pattern before color matching, which can suggest intermediate shades. Contrast adjusts color channels around their midpoint.
Dimensions and limits
Output width ranges from 8 to 256 pixels. Height follows the source aspect ratio, capped at 1,024 pixels for very tall images. Files are limited to 20 MB and 24 megapixels. PNG, JPEG and WebP are supported; animated WebP is treated as a still image. Exports are PNG, capped at 16 megapixels. Choose a smaller scale for tall images.
Transparency and crisp exports
Existing alpha transparency is retained. The converter does not identify or remove backgrounds. Resampling can leave partially transparent edges. Export enlargement uses nearest-neighbor scaling at integer multiples so no extra smoothing is introduced. The checkerboard is a preview aid and is not part of your download.
Palettes
Pocket Green is a four-color green palette; Sunset Dusk and Ink & Paper are small curated palettes. The Arcade option uses the 16-color DB16 palette by DawnBringer. Names are descriptive and do not imply endorsement by a console manufacturer. Original Colors retains sampled colors without palette quantization.
What makes a good source image?
Choose a strong silhouette and a simple background. Crop tightly around the subject before importing. Faces and lettering can become unreadable at low resolutions: try 128 pixels before dropping to 64 or 32. Fine lines may disappear when averaged into a coarse grid. Automatic conversion is a starting point; hand-editing individual pixels often improves the result.
Feedback
Report bugs or request features in our GitHub issue tracker. Do not post private images or personal information in public issues.