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Show HN: I just built a tool to turn any photo into pixel art
Hey everyone,
I'm excited to share a brand new side project I just finished building: phototopixel.art. It's a simple web tool that automatically converts any photo you upload into pixel art.
I've always been a fan of the aesthetic of pixel art, but manually creating it is a tedious process. After trying out some existing tools and not being fully satisfied with the results, I decided to build my own. My goal was to create a fast and easy-to-use solution that consistently produces great-looking pixel art.
Behind the Scenes
The core of the tool uses a combination of color quantization and pixelation algorithms. When you upload a photo, the system analyzes its color data and reduces it to a limited palette, while simultaneously creating the iconic blocky look.
One of the biggest challenges was fine-tuning the balance between preserving key details and achieving a genuine pixel art feel. I experimented a lot with the algorithm to find the sweet spot, allowing users to choose different settings to get the perfect result.
Potential Uses
Avatars: Make a unique, retro-style profile picture for social media.
Digital Art: Turn a favorite photo of a landscape or pet into a cool piece of pixel art.
Game Assets: It might even be useful for indie developers looking to quickly generate simple assets or mockups.
I’d love for you to give it a try and share your feedback. What features would you like to see added? Are there any use cases you can think of that I haven't mentioned?
Thanks for checking it out!
- neuralkoi 1y agoMy feedback: there's more to pixel art than just reducing the resolution of an image. If you look at art like that found in Pokemon Emerald intro[0], the artists really squeezed every ounce they could from the palette available and worked with the constraints to make very beautiful artwork. Here's an example I worked with: Original image: https://i.imgur.com/9nbqLCV.jpeg https://i.imgur.com/9nbqLCV.jpeg phototopixel.art: https://i.imgur.com/99qRwcy.png https://i.imgur.com/99qRwcy.png More what I was probably looking for: https://i.imgur.com/oqSNNDt.jpeg https://i.imgur.com/oqSNNDt.jpeg I generated this image above using ChatGPT by giving it the original image above and this prompt: "Convert this to pixel art, as if it had been made for the gameboy advance." [0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shUkq1sfSyU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shUkq1sfSyU
- z946719919 1y agoOkay, got it. I'll seriously consider making improvements.
- slig 1y agoThanks for sharing! I liked it that it runs locally. I do have a use case that you probably did not consider: Color By Numbers [1]. Might be something that is useful for educators and parents. [1]: https://www.mindware.orientaltrading.com/color-by-number-mystery-mosaics-book-8-a2-13774503.fltr?categoryId=90000+3209+3206+3193+3188 https://www.mindware.orientaltrading.com/color-by-number-mys...
- z946719919 1y agoReceived. This is a great requirement.