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Image to pixel art, with a grid

A block-by-block pattern from any picture, with grid lines to count, made on this device.

Turn a picture into a pixel grid pattern for Perler beads, cross-stitch, Minecraft builds or knitting charts: few colours, grid lines, crisp PNG. It is free, needs no account and adds no watermark, and your files are not uploaded: everything runs in your browser on your device. The size limit is your device’s memory, and phones hold less; give the page a short while after one visit to save itself for offline use, and then it works offline.

Drop the picture for your patternor click to choose files. Batches welcome.
    Working…

    Done

    Your files are processed on this device and never sent to a server. Reload the page to clear everything from memory.

    Bead boards, cross-stitch fabric, knitting charts and block-built games all work one square at a time, so a pattern is just a picture shrunk to a grid with a small set of colours. Counting squares on a photo is impossible; counting them on a gridded pixel image is easy.

    This page starts at 48 squares across with 8 colours and grid lines drawn between every block. Change the width to match your board, stitch count or build, and lower the colours to the number of bead or thread shades you own. The preview redraws as you move each setting.

    The PNG is enlarged so each square is big enough to read on a phone or print. Keep it open next to you and tick off rows as you go.

    How it works

    1. Drop the picture.
    2. Set squares across to your board or fabric width and choose how many colours.
    3. Press Make the pattern and print or keep it open while you build.

    In your browser, not on a server

    Your browser decodes the picture (libheif or the Squoosh decoders step in for HEIC, AVIF and JPEG XL) and shrinks it to the grid in halving steps, so each block is the average of the pixels it covers. The palette comes from gifenc’s (MIT) colour quantizer or a fixed retro set; each block snaps to the nearest colour, weighted the way the eye weighs red, green and blue, with optional Floyd–Steinberg dithering. The small image is then enlarged with smoothing off, so every block stays a crisp square, and saved as PNG.

    Compared with upload-based tools: Online pixel art makers upload your photo, often cap the grid size or the number of colours unless you pay, and some add a watermark. Here the picture never leaves your device and every setting is free.

    Verify it yourself. Give the page a short while after one visit to save itself for offline use, then turn off Wi-Fi or switch to airplane mode and run the tool again. Or open your browser's developer tools (F12, or Cmd-Option-I on a Mac), pick the Network tab, and watch it while you convert. The panel above does the same count for you.

    Questions

    How wide is a standard bead board?

    A small square Perler or Hama pegboard is 29 pegs across; the large ones are 57 or more. Several boards can be joined, so 58 or 87 across works for bigger pieces.

    Can it match my actual bead or thread colours?

    Not automatically: the colours come from the picture. Pick the closest bead for each colour in the pattern; with 8 or fewer colours that takes a few minutes.

    Does it work for Minecraft map art?

    For the layout, yes: one square per block. Minecraft’s map colours are a fixed set, so treat the colours here as a guide and choose the nearest block for each.

    Is the file uploaded anywhere?

    No. There is no server in this process. The page is a static file and the work is done by code running inside your browser tab. Give the page a short while after one visit to save itself for offline use; then you can turn off Wi-Fi and it still works.

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