8-bit NES: pixel art in the NES palette with dark outlines

8-bit NES redraws your picture in the colors of the Nintendo Entertainment System palette, on a grid of 10-pixel blocks with no dithering, so every block is one flat console color. Saturation is raised to 30 so the picture lands on the palette's strong blues, reds and greens, and an Outline of 40 draws a dark line along the edges of shapes, the way sprites of the era were drawn.

Make it yours

• 01

  Clean up busy areas

  Photos with grass, hair or noise can sprout stray outlines. Lower Outline from 40 to 20, or raise Pixel size to 14 so small details merge before the outline is drawn.

• 02

  Add the shading of the era

  Set Dithering to Bayer 2 × 2 and gradients such as skies get the fine checker shading NES artists used to suggest colors the console could not show.

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