Pixelize settings help you guide an AI image-to-pixel-art redraw without turning the process into a complicated editor. You can generate with the defaults, then change one control at a time when the result needs a different frame, palette, level of detail, or background.
This page explains what every setting does, when it is useful, and which controls should be adjusted first. Because Pixelize uses AI, most settings are creative directions rather than exact mathematical guarantees. The same setup can produce different details across separate generations.
Which settings should you change first?
Use this order when a result needs improvement:
- Preset — decide whether you want a faithful redraw, portrait, icon, chibi interpretation, side view, or scene.
- Aspect and Crop — fix the composition and subject size.
- Background — decide whether the setting should remain, become transparent, or use a solid color.
- Colors and Detail/Pixel Size — tune the visual density.
- Images — request more variations after the setup is worth exploring.
- Advanced Prompt — add written direction only when the standard controls do not express the goal.
This order is practical because framing problems cannot usually be repaired by palette changes. Get the large shapes right before spending credits on fine variations.
Images: choose how many variations to generate
The Images setting requests 1–4 results in one run. Each requested image costs one credit, and the Generate button displays the total before the run begins.
Use one image while learning a preset or testing a crop. Raise the number when the composition and settings already look sensible and you want several nearby AI interpretations to compare.
- 1 image: fastest, lowest-cost baseline.
- 2 images: useful for a simple choice between variations.
- 3–4 images: useful when selecting an avatar or exploring a setup you already like.
More images do not increase the quality of each individual result. They increase the number of variations. If a requested result fails, its credit is refunded.
Aspect: choose the output shape
Aspect ratio defines the shape of the generated canvas. It does not simply stretch the source.
- Auto lets Pixelize choose a sensible fit based on the source, crop, and preset.
- Fixed ratios include common square, portrait, landscape, and wide formats such as 1:1, 4:5, 16:9, and 9:16.
- Custom lets VIP members enter a width and height within AniPixel’s size limit.
Chibi, Side, Portrait, and Icon are square presets, so they stay at 1:1. Redraw and Scene support a broader set of aspect choices.
Choose the destination before the ratio. A square works for profile images and compact icons, a portrait shape suits character posts, and a wide frame gives scenes or banner experiments more horizontal room.
Changing aspect can alter what fits in the frame. Review Crop immediately afterward.
Crop: decide which part of the source matters
Crop controls how the uploaded image fills the selected aspect ratio.
- Off keeps the full source available when the framing already works.
- Center fills the target frame from the middle.
- Manual lets you reposition and scale the crop around the important subject.
Use Manual crop when the face is off-center, the source contains large empty margins, or a square output should focus on the head and shoulders. Avoid placing important hair, hands, or props directly against the crop boundary.
Crop is the most useful fix when a generated character appears too small. Increasing Detail will not make a distant subject occupy more of the frame.
Think of the three crop modes as increasingly deliberate choices. Off keeps the uploaded frame unchanged. Center fits the selected aspect ratio around the middle of the source, which is convenient when the subject is already centered. Manual lets you move and resize the crop boundary when the important area sits elsewhere. The crop preview defines the source region sent for generation, but AI redraws can still reinterpret the final composition.
For a deeper walkthrough, see Crop and aspect ratio in Pixelize.
Colors: guide the palette size
The Colors slider ranges from 8 to 64, with 32 as the default.
- Fewer colors encourage broader color groups and a more limited, retro-feeling palette.
- More colors allow additional shades and can keep more subtle transitions from the source.
Colors is guidance for the AI redraw, not a promise that the downloaded file will contain exactly that number of unique RGB values. Anti-aliasing, transparency, and generation details can affect the final file.
Start at 32. Move lower when the result feels visually noisy or you want stronger color grouping. Move higher when a soft portrait needs more separation in hair, skin, and clothing. Change the setting in meaningful steps rather than repeatedly moving it by one value.
Detail: guide visual density on Redraw and Scene
Redraw and Scene show a Detail control with Low, Medium, and High options. It guides how finely the AI should interpret the image.
- Low can encourage broader shapes and a simpler pixel feel.
- Medium is the balanced default.
- High can preserve or introduce more small visual information.
Detail does not set an exact pixel-grid size. High is not automatically better: extra texture can make a tiny avatar harder to read. Low is not automatically more authentic: it may remove features you care about. Judge the result at the size where you plan to use it.
Pixel Size: guide chunkiness on square presets
Chibi, Side, Portrait, and Icon replace Detail with Pixel Size:
- Large asks for chunkier logical pixels and broader shapes.
- Medium balances readability and feature detail.
- Small asks for a finer pixel texture.
Pixel Size is also a prompt-level direction, not a locked output grid. If you need to recover the actual logical grid from an AI pixel-style result, use Fix Pixel Grid after downloading.
Background: keep, remove, or replace the setting
Background is available on most character presets and hidden on Scene.
- Original asks Pixelize to retain the general backdrop direction from the source.
- Transparent asks for an output with alpha transparency.
- Color lets you choose a solid fill.
Transparent generation can be convenient for avatars, stickers, overlays, and early sprite concepts. Always inspect the downloaded PNG against both a light and dark checkerboard or solid background. Fine hair, pale edges, and small gaps may need cleanup.
If transparency is incomplete, open the result in the free Remove Background tool. It runs locally in the browser and provides Keep/Remove corrections without spending Pixelize credits.
Advanced Prompt: add written direction carefully
Advanced Prompt is a VIP feature. It lets you add written guidance and includes a stronger Override mode.
Use it for a short direction that the standard controls do not cover, such as a restrained palette note, a general lighting mood, or a simple pose emphasis. Avoid long lists of conflicting requirements. The source image, preset, crop, and prompt all influence the same generation.
Advanced Prompt does not guarantee exact text, logos, anatomy, accessories, colors, or composition. AI results vary, and Override deliberately leans more heavily on the written instruction. Save the original result before experimenting so you can compare versions.
For access details and limitations, read VIP custom size and Advanced Prompt.
Reset: return controls to their defaults
Reset restores the default Pixelize settings after confirmation. It does not remove the uploaded source or finished results.
Reset is useful after a long experiment when several controls have changed and you no longer know which combination produced the current setup. Download any result you want to keep, reset, and rebuild the next test with one deliberate change.
Best settings by goal (starting recipes)
These are starting points, not guaranteed formulas. Generate one baseline, then change a single control. Judge the result at the size where you will actually use it.
Faithful image-to-pixel-art redraw
- Goal: closest conversion of the upload
- Preset: Redraw
- Aspect: Auto
- Crop: Off unless the subject is too small
- Colors: 32
- Detail: Medium
- Background: Original
- Images: 1
Quick anime or character portrait
- Goal: face / bust for a profile picture
- Preset: Portrait
- Aspect: 1:1 (locked)
- Crop: Manual around head and shoulders
- Colors: 32
- Pixel Size: Medium
- Background: Original or Transparent
- Images: 1 for the baseline; 2–4 once framing looks right
Tiny avatar, emoji-style tile, or server icon
- Goal: readable at very small display sizes
- Preset: Icon
- Aspect: 1:1
- Crop: Manual with a clear silhouette (head or single object)
- Colors: 8–32 (start lower if the result looks noisy)
- Pixel Size: Large or Medium
- Background: Transparent or a solid color
- Images: 1, then 2–4 once the framing works
Cute sticker / chibi remake
- Goal: playful exaggeration, not likeness
- Preset: Chibi
- Aspect: 1:1 (locked)
- Crop: Manual so the character fills most of the square
- Colors: 24–32
- Pixel Size: Large for a toy-like look; Medium if features vanish
- Background: Transparent if you want a sticker-ready PNG
- Images: 1–2
Wide scene or wallpaper experiment
- Goal: place / environment as the subject
- Preset: Scene (or Redraw if a character must stay primary)
- Aspect: 16:9 or 9:16 depending on desktop vs phone
- Crop: Manual only if you need to cut empty margins
- Colors: 32
- Detail: Medium
- Background: (hidden on Scene — the backdrop is the subject)
- Images: 1
Transparent cutout you will finish locally
- Goal: sticker / overlay with alpha
- Any character preset + Background: Transparent, or generate with Original and finish in Remove Background
- Prefer generating Transparent when you already know you need alpha
- Always check the PNG on both a light and a dark surface
An exported result can be useful for personal avatars, stream graphics, mockups, or an early game-asset concept. Review and edit it before relying on exact dimensions, palette rules, transparency, or production consistency.
A simple testing method
Use controlled comparisons instead of changing everything at once:
- Generate one baseline with default settings.
- Identify the largest visible problem: preset, framing, background, palette, or detail.
- Change only the setting connected to that problem.
- Generate one new result and compare it at the intended display size.
- Keep the better direction, then test the next setting.
When the setup is ready, open Pixelize and try it with your own permitted image. For the complete upload-to-download sequence, follow How to turn an image into pixel art with AniPixel.