For most pixel art portraits made from photos, a grid about 60 to 100 cells wide keeps the person recognizable while still looking clearly like pixel art. Below about 30 cells across, faces turn into icons: charming, but no longer a likeness. Above about 150, the pixels are so small that the image looks like a slightly rough photo. What matters is how many cells land on the face, not the “pixel size” number itself, so crop tight first and then choose the grid.
Pixel size vs grid size: what’s the difference? #
Converters talk about “pixel size” or “block size,” the number of photo pixels merged into one pixel-art cell. What you actually see is the grid: how many cells wide the finished picture is. The two are linked by the width of the photo being processed:
cells across = image width รท pixel size
So the same “8 px” setting gives very different results on a 4000-pixel photo and a 720-pixel one. Some tools, including Pixelize, resize every photo to a fixed working width first, which makes each setting predictable. In Pixelize, that working copy is 720 pixels wide.
How many cells should a face be? #
Think about the face itself, not the whole frame. A rough guide for photo conversions:
| Cells across the face | What survives | Style |
|---|---|---|
| 10 to 16 | Hair shape, skin tone, glasses | Game sprite, emoji-like |
| 18 to 30 | Eyes and mouth as small marks, face shape | Chunky 16-bit character |
| 30 to 60 | Expression, nose, recognizable likeness | Classic pixel portrait |
| 60 to 110 | Fine features, individual strands of hair | Detailed, photo-like pixel art |
The eyes break first. Once each eye is only one or two cells wide, the portrait stops being a specific person and becomes “a person.” That can be exactly what you want for an avatar, but not for a gift portrait of your grandmother.
What does each Pixelize pixel size give you? #
Pixelize offers six pixel sizes. With Avatar mode on, photos are cropped square, so on the 720 x 720 working copy you get:
| Pixel size | Grid | Cells on a face filling 60% of the width | XL export |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 px | 180 x 180 | about 108 | 2160 x 2160 (12 px per cell) |
| 8 px | 90 x 90 | about 54 | 2160 x 2160 (24 px per cell) |
| 12 px | 60 x 60 | about 36 | 2160 x 2160 (36 px per cell) |
| 16 px | 45 x 45 | about 27 | 2160 x 2160 (48 px per cell) |
| 24 px | 30 x 30 | about 18 | 2160 x 2160 (72 px per cell) |
| 32 px | 22 x 22 | about 13 | 2156 x 2156 (98 px per cell) |
For a tall, non-square photo, the grid is the same width but taller. At 8 px, a 3:4 portrait becomes 90 x 120 cells.
Our starting recommendation: 8 px for a recognizable portrait, 12 px if you want it to feel more like pixel art than a photo, and 16 to 24 px for a sprite-style avatar. The app opens at 8 px for that reason.
Crop first, then pick the size #
The single biggest improvement to a pixel portrait is cropping. A face that fills 30% of the frame at 8 px gets about 27 cells, the same as a face that fills 60% at 16 px. The difference is that the tight crop spends the extra cells on the face instead of the background.
- Crop from the top of the head to the chin or shoulders.
- Leave a little space around the head if you’ll use it as a round profile picture, since platforms crop the corners.
- Remove distracting background objects before converting, or use a plain background.
Match the size to where the portrait will be seen #
The right grid depends on the display size.
- Profile pictures are shown small, often under 100 pixels on screen and cropped to a circle. Fine grids are wasted there. Around 30 to 60 cells across the whole frame reads best. See how to make a pixel art profile picture.
- Phone wallpapers and posts are viewed full-width, so 60 to 100 cells across works well.
- Prints and framed gifts are viewed up close and large, so finer grids (100+ cells) hold up, as long as you export at a high resolution.
How do palette and dithering change the best size? #
Pixel size doesn’t work alone.
- Small palettes need more cells. With 4 colors (Game Boy), a face needs extra cells so the dithering has room to shade it. At 8 px and larger it can still read well.
- Big pixels make dithering loud. At 24 or 32 px, every dither dot is a large visible square. Many portraits look cleaner with dithering off at those sizes. What dithering is covers when each mode helps.
- Cel-shade outlines help coarse grids. Pixelize’s Outline effect darkens edges between regions, which gives chunky 16 to 32 px portraits a defined sprite look.
Does a bigger export add detail? #
No. The grid decides the detail. Exporting at a larger size only makes each cell a bigger square of identical pixels. That’s still worth doing, because a larger file stays sharp when a website or app resizes it. Just make sure the enlargement is a whole number with nearest-neighbor scaling. Pixelize exports at S, M or XL (about 1080, 1620 or 2160 pixels on the long edge) and always enlarges with hard edges. For other tools, see how to upscale pixel art without blur.
A quick testing routine #
- Crop the face tight.
- Start at a medium grid (about 90 cells across, or 8 px in Pixelize).
- Step coarser until the person is no longer recognizable, then step back one.
- Try two palettes and two dithering modes at that size.
- Compare against the original before saving. Pixelize has a Compare slider for this.
If you’re new to the process, how to turn a photo into pixel art covers the other settings.
Frequently asked questions #
What is the best canvas size for a pixel art portrait? #
For hand-drawn portraits, 32x32 to 64x64 is common for avatars and busts, and 100 to 200 pixels wide for detailed pieces. For photo conversions, about 60 to 100 cells across the frame keeps a likeness.
What pixel size should I use for a profile picture? #
Go coarser than you would for a wallpaper, because profile pictures are shown small and cropped to a circle. A grid of roughly 30 to 60 cells across the frame (12 to 24 px in Pixelize’s square Avatar mode) reads clearly at thumbnail size.
Why does my pixel portrait look unrecognizable? #
Usually too few cells land on the face. Crop tighter or use a smaller pixel size. Flat lighting also hurts, so try a photo with light from one side, or raise contrast before the palette is applied.
Should I use 8px or 16px? #
On a 720-pixel-wide working image, 8 px gives a 90-cell grid that keeps most likeness, and 16 px gives 45 cells, which looks more like a game character. Pick 8 px for portraits you want people to recognize and 16 px for avatars and stylized art.