image2pixel

A browser-based pixel art converter: turn photos and images into pixel art with adjustable block size, color count, conversion algorithms, and built-in / custom palettes.

Live site: https://image2pixel.app

Original	Result

Features

• Real-time preview in the browser (no install, no build step)
• Block size 2–20 · color count 2–64
• 5 conversion algorithms (default: Classic LAB)
• Built-in palette collections (PICO-8, DawnBringer, Endesga, AAP-64, hardware / wplace, and more)
• Custom palette upload
• Perler / fuse bead (拼豆) blueprint export with brand palettes (Perler, Hama, Nabbi, Artkal)
• Grid overlay, 1:1 pixel export, PNG download, and print (A4)
• Transparency (alpha) support
• UI languages: English · 简体中文 · 繁體中文
• Companion page: Pixel Font Generator

Conversion Algorithms

Algorithm	Summary
Classic (Median Cut)	Block average → Median Cut palette in RGB → nearest color. Fast baseline.
Classic LAB (default)	Same solid blocks, but palette + matching in CIELAB for more perceptual results.
LAB + Dithering	Classic LAB pipeline + Floyd–Steinberg error diffusion (CIELAB distance).
Tezumie Style	Center-pixel sampling (hard edges) + LAB Floyd–Steinberg dithering.
Tezumie (No Dither)	Center-pixel sampling without dithering — clean hard-color blocks.

On-page copy under Conversion Algorithms explains each option; labels are fully localized.

How to Use

1. Open an image (JPG / PNG / WebP).
2. Adjust Block Size, Color Count, Algorithm, and optionally Show Grid.
3. Pick a built-in palette or upload a custom one; for fuse beads, choose a brand palette and enable Blueprint before Save.
4. Optionally enable 1:1 to export one physical pixel per color block.
5. Save as PNG or Print (grid is preserved when enabled).

Related Products

Platform	Link
Steam (desktop)	Image2pixel — Pixel Art Generator
App Store (iOS)	image2pixel
Google Play (Android)	image2pixel
Chrome Extension	Image2Pixel Picker

Extension privacy policy: web/chrome-extension-privacy-policy.html.

Project Structure

├── server.js                 # Optional static server (serves web/ on :5000)
├── pixelizer.js              # Legacy / reference pixelizer helpers
├── scripts/                  # Palette conversion helpers
└── web/
    ├── index.html            # Main converter
    ├── pixel-text-generator.html
    ├── css/style.css
    ├── js/
    │   ├── main.js           # UI + conversion orchestration
    │   ├── algorithms.js     # CIELAB / dither / Tezumie pipelines
    │   ├── i18n.js           # EN / zh-CN / zh-TW strings
    │   └── pixel-text-generator.js
    ├── palette/              # Built-in + fuse bead palettes
    ├── zh-CN/ · zh-TW/       # Localized legal pages
    └── *.html                # Privacy, EULA, support, extension policy

Local Development

git clone https://github.com/32comic/image2pixel-web.git
cd image2pixel-web
node server.js   # http://localhost:5000

Or open web/index.html directly. No npm install or bundler required (Node is only needed for server.js).

Version History

Current: v1.1.0

v1.1.0

• Algorithm selector with 5 pipelines (Classic, Classic LAB, LAB + Dithering, Tezumie Style, Tezumie No Dither)
• On-page algorithm introduction section
• Localized algorithm labels (EN / 简体中文 / 繁體中文)

v1.0.7

• 1:1 export checkbox (one physical pixel per color block)

v1.0.6

• Perler bead (拼豆) blueprint export
• 7 fuse bead brand palettes (Perler, Hama, Nabbi, Artkal)

v1.0.4

• Print support

v1.0.3

• Transparency (alpha channel) support

v1.0.2

• Grid display; improved download interaction

v1.0.1

• Mobile layout: hide original preview ≤768px; result uses full width

v1.0.0

• Initial web converter: preview, block size, color count, PNG download

Technical Notes

• Background detection: samples image corners; averages RGB for a stable background estimate
• Anti-aliasing cleanup: color-distance threshold (default 30) remaps near-background noise
• Scaling: aspect-preserving, nearest-neighbor for crisp blocks
• Algorithms: see table above; implementation lives in web/js/algorithms.js and web/js/main.js

License

Custom restricted license — see LICENSE.

Copyright © 2024–2026 image2pixel.app. All rights reserved.

Personal / educational / non-commercial use is permitted under the license terms. Commercial use requires written permission.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Pixel It for the inspiration.