How to draw pixel art
Choose an 8, 16, 32 or 64 pixel square grid. Small grids are useful for icons and game tiles because each mark has a clear effect on the silhouette. Pick Pen or Eraser, enter a six-digit HEX color, or choose a color with the swatch. Drag across the canvas to draw a continuous stroke. Each completed stroke is one undo step, even when it changes many cells.
The pale sample clears once when you start drawing. Undo and Redo are at the top of the right-hand toolbox, followed by Pen, Eraser and color. Clear removes the current drawing. A loaded JSON project is real artwork and is never erased as a sample.
Preview, transparency and coordinates
The editor shows enlarged cells so you can work precisely. Its thin grid lines and checkerboard are guides: neither is painted into your saved image. Eraser restores transparency rather than painting white. The smaller preview displays the actual colors without editor guides. Coordinates start at x = 0, y = 0 in the top-left corner.
For keyboard editing, focus the canvas, move with the arrow keys, and press Space or Enter to paint the selected cell. On a touch screen, dragging inside the canvas draws; swipe outside it to scroll the page.
Save a crisp PNG
Choose the download size below the result image, then press Save PNG. Sizes are displayed in actual pixels. They use whole-number enlargement of the drawing, without smoothing. Changing download size never changes your editable grid. Grid lines mark cell boundaries; the separately switchable checkerboard only indicates transparency while editing. Both are excluded from the transparent PNG and its result preview.
For example, a 16 × 16 drawing at 8× becomes a 128 × 128 PNG. A 32 × 32 drawing at 4× also produces 128 × 128 pixels, but contains four times as many editable source cells. Use 1× when a game engine expects the original resolution.
Keep an editable original
PNG is the finished image and the main download. Open Editable project (JSON) in the toolbox only if you want to save or reload editable source pixels. Save JSON keeps the grid and colors, including alpha; Load JSON validates the complete file before replacing your drawing. This optional project file is not an image format and is not needed to use the PNG.
Only this editor’s version 1 project format is accepted, with a matching pixel count and valid HEX colors or null for transparent cells. Files larger than 100 KB are rejected. A failed import leaves your existing artwork intact. Projects are not automatically saved between visits, so save a JSON copy before closing or changing languages.
Can I change the grid size?
Choose a grid size in the right toolbox, then press Apply size. Selecting a size alone never changes the drawing. Shrinking asks for confirmation when painted pixels would be cropped; Undo restores them afterward. Expansion adds transparent cells and keeps the top-left area without stretching. Download size is a separate setting below the result.
How much can I undo?
The editor retains the latest 30 changes in this tab. Undo and Redo include completed strokes, Clear, resizing and successful project loads. A new edit after Undo replaces the redo branch. History is not included in exported JSON.
Why does my PNG look different in another app?
The exported file has no checkerboard, grid or selection border. Some viewers display transparency as white or black and smooth enlarged previews. Check the image at 100% or use nearest-neighbor scaling in the receiving app to inspect its real pixels.
Can I convert a photo or make an animation?
This tool edits one static frame up to 64 × 64 pixels. It does not convert photographs, reduce palettes automatically, import PNGs for editing, generate AI artwork, or export GIFs and animation. Use your own simple shapes and save a PNG for a separate sprite-sheet workflow.