Convert an image into editable pixel art.

Choose a source image

Drop a PNG, JPEG, WebP, or another browser-readable static image onto the landing page. The file is decoded and processed in your browser; the image is not uploaded to Pixel Art Tool.

Images with a clear subject, readable silhouette, and moderate contrast usually translate most cleanly. Transparent PNGs keep their transparent areas.

To draw without a source, choose New blank canvas, name the project, and set an exact grid size. New blank documents begin with a white background; enable Transparent background in Layers whenever the artwork needs alpha. Blank documents hide conversion controls and keep the painting, resizing, project, and export tools.

Build the first version

Start with Pixel Detail. This is the number of editable cells along the image’s longest edge. It is not a visual zoom setting. Lower values create chunkier shapes; higher values retain more detail.

• Try 24–48 pixels for icons and deliberately chunky sprites.
• Try 64–96 pixels for simplified portraits and illustrated scenes.
• Start near 128 pixels when recognizable faces, pets, or products matter.

Edit with tools, selections, and layers

Generated pixels and transparent manual overrides live together in the editable Pixel Artwork layer. Conversion changes can rebuild its generated base while preserving your hand edits. Add raster layers for separate details or experiments.

Pencil · P

Paint with the selected color.

Eraser · E

Make edited cells transparent.

Fill · F

Recolor a connected area in one action.

Eyedropper · I

Pick a color directly from the artwork.

Restore · R

Remove an edit and reveal the generated cell.

Select · M

Select cells by box, lasso, or matching color.

Shapes · U

Draw outlined or filled rectangles and ellipses.

Hand · H

Pan the canvas without painting.

A pixel selection is shared across the canvas while each layer keeps its own pixels. Use Cmd/Ctrl+A to select the full canvas, Cmd/Ctrl+D to clear the selection, and the standard copy, cut, and paste shortcuts to move selected pixels. Right-click the canvas to copy, paste at the pointer, delete, or move selected pixels to the editable layer above or below.

The Layers tab keeps the Source Reference at the bottom as a non-exporting preview. New drawing layers are added at the top. Rename, hide, lock, reorder, duplicate, or change the opacity of a layer without changing the others. Choose Select in the Layers tab—or hold Shift while clicking rows—to select several layers. Enable Edit selected layers only when one drawing action should affect every selected, visible, unlocked layer.

Use Undo and Redo for completed strokes. Hold Space to temporarily pan with the hand tool, hold O to reveal the original image, and press 0 to fit the artwork back into view.

• Scroll or use two fingers on a trackpad to pan the canvas.
• Hold Shift while scrolling to pan horizontally.
• Use Ctrl/Cmd-scroll or a trackpad pinch to zoom around your pointer.
• On a touchscreen, use two fingers to pan and pinch at the same time.

Projects and export

Pixel Art Tool autosaves named projects to a browser-local library and shows whether the active project is saving, saved, or unavailable beside its name. Browser copies are convenient working storage, not downloaded backups.

Open the Project menu to start a new image, open a saved .pixeltool file, rename the current project, or choose Download project file for a portable backup. A project file includes the source image, conversion settings, generated grid, and your edits.

Canvas Size crops or expands every layer without resampling. Scale Artworkresamples every layer to a new grid. A proportional source-backed scale up to 256 cells keeps conversion live; other geometry changes ask you to Freeze conversion. Freezing turns only Pixel Artwork into a normal raster layer, preserves all other layers separately, and removes the source preview and future Pixel Detail rebuilds.

• Download native-size PNG exports the exact working grid.
• Download 8× PNG (or your selected scale) enlarges the grid with crisp nearest-neighbor edges.
• Download original-size PNG matches the source image dimensions.
• Before / after comparison combines visible artwork and the original source at an adjustable split.
• Download SVG creates scalable vector geometry from the native grid.