Photo to 8-bit Avatar: Recommended Settings (Fast)
Turn a photo into an 8-bit avatar with practical settings: pixel size, dithering, and palette choices for readable faces.
Best starting preset (faces)
For photos, dithering preserves shading and avoids “flat poster” faces. Start here for the highest success rate.
- Algorithm: Floyd-Steinberg
- Pixel size: 10–12
- Palette: NES or Game Boy
- Max colors: 16–32 (optional)
Fix common problems (fast)
Quick adjustments that solve most “why does it look weird?” problems.
- Skin looks noisy → increase pixel size to 12–14
- Face too dark → increase brightness slightly (+5 to +15)
- Colors too messy → reduce maxColors (16–24)
- Edges look blurry → try Nearest (but faces may look harsh)
Cropping matters more than settings
If the face is small in the frame, pixelation will destroy it. Crop tighter before converting.
- Center the face and remove background clutter
- Avoid strong shadows across the face if possible
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