Start with a silhouette
Block in the whole shape in one dark colour before any detail. If the silhouette is readable at actual size, the sprite will be; if it is not, no amount of shading will save it.
Pixel Art Maker
Open it and draw. Pick a palette and colour the blank grid one pixel at a time; resize the canvas whenever you like and undo any slip. Download an upscaled PNG when you are done, or a gridded chart to copy from.
How it works
01
Choose a canvas and a palette
The canvas starts square, and width and height resize independently. Palettes: Sweetie 16, PICO-8, Game Boy and NES.
02
Draw pixel by pixel
Brush, erase, flood-fill an area, or swap one colour for another everywhere at once. Every step can be undone.
03
Export
Download an upscaled PNG with perfectly sharp edges, or the 1:1 original. For something to draw or stitch from, export a chart with a grid and row and column numbers.
What you get
A blank canvas, ready to draw
Square canvases from 8 to 64 pixels for free. Resize as you go — what you have drawn stays put.
Classic palettes
Draw with PICO-8, Sweetie 16, Game Boy or NES colours, so every pixel already belongs together.
Proper drawing tools
Brush, eraser, magic wand, colour picker, colour replace, mirror, undo and redo.
Grid and rulers
Row and column numbers on every side make it easy to count and to copy a design cell by cell.
Export for anything
A crisp upscaled PNG, a 1:1 file for games, a gridded chart, or a PDF for members.
Save and publish
Keep drawings in your projects and share finished pieces in the public pattern library.
Drawing pixel art from scratch
Shade with few colours
Two or three shades per material — base, shadow, highlight — are enough. Pick one light direction and keep to it, and avoid shading every edge darker, which flattens the form. A limited palette makes this decision for you.
Clean your lines
Lines whose steps repeat evenly (1-1-1 or 2-2-2) look smooth; uneven steps look broken. Remove orphan pixels and doubled corners. Finished? The same drawing can be made in fuse beads, cross stitch or diamond painting — or start from a photo with the image to pixel art converter.
Canvas sizes
Where each common canvas size is at its best.
| Canvas | Pixels | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| 16 × 16 | 256 | Icons, items, tiny emoji |
| 32 × 32 | 1,024 | Characters, pets, game sprites |
| 48 × 48 | 2,304 | Portraits and detailed characters |
| 64 × 64 | 4,096 | Scenes, avatars, detailed portraits |
Questions
- How do I start drawing pixel art?
- Begin with a 16×16 canvas: outline the shape in a dark colour, fill the large areas, then add a pixel or two of highlight and shadow. Fewer colours are easier to make look good, so try the 4-colour Game Boy palette or the 16 colours of PICO-8 first.
- How large can the canvas be?
- Up to 64×64 pixels out of the box, which covers icons, avatars and small scenes. Larger canvases are part of the paid plan.
- Can I import an image and edit it?
- Yes. Convert a photo with the image to pixel art tool first, then keep editing it pixel by pixel in the same editor.
- Can my pixel art become a fuse bead project?
- Yes. Open the same picture in the bead pattern generator to match it to real bead colour codes, with bead counts and a shopping list.
- Which canvas size should I start with?
- 32 × 32 is the sweet spot for a first sprite: big enough for a face and a pose, small enough that every pixel still matters. Go down to 16 for icons, up to 64 for scenes.
- How do I shade pixel art?
- Use two or three tones of each colour, light from one direction, and keep shadows as solid clusters rather than scattered dots. Choosing one of the retro palettes keeps the tones in harmony.
- Can I trace over a photo?
- Start in the image to pixel art converter instead: it turns the photo into a pixel grid you can then edit with exactly the same tools.
- Is it free?
- Canvases up to 64 pixels with up to 48 colours are free, with PNG export and saving. Members get up to 232 pixels, 96 colours and PDF — see plans.
Learn more
Background reading from outside Bitbead.