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Best Pixel Size for Pixel Art (How to Choose)

A practical guide to choosing pixel size for avatars, icons, logos, sprites, and UI. Includes fast presets and a simple decision process.

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Quick presets

Preset: Balanced (size 8)Preset: Chunky (size 14)

A simple mental model

Pixel size is not “quality”. It’s a style dial: smaller keeps detail, larger makes shapes simpler and more readable.

If you only try one value, start with pixel size 10.

  • Discord / PFP: 10–14 (readable small)
  • Favicon / logo icon: 12–16 (simple shape)
  • Sprites: 4–8 (keeps motion readable)
  • Indie game UI: 4–6 (consistent grid)

Pick in 30 seconds (decision tree)

Start with pixel size 10. Then adjust based on what you see (not what you expect).

  • Too detailed/noisy → increase pixel size (12–14)
  • Too blocky/unrecognizable → decrease pixel size (6–8)
  • Photo shading looks broken → use Floyd-Steinberg
  • Logo/UI looks blurry → use Nearest
  • Colors look messy → reduce maxColors (16–32)

Common mistakes (and fixes)

These are the reasons results look “bad” even with a good pixel size.

  • Busy background → crop tighter or remove background first
  • Too many colors → reduce maxColors or use a fixed palette
  • Scaling blur → export PNG and avoid non-integer scaling

Related

PresetsPalettesPixelate Image