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!