PICO-8 sprite: chunky 16-color pixel art with heavy outlines

PICO-8 sprite borrows the fixed 16-color palette of the PICO-8 fantasy console and draws your image in large 16-pixel blocks, so it reads like a sprite made for a tiny screen. With no dithering every block is one of those 16 colors, Saturation at 35 and Contrast at 20 push the picture toward the palette's bright accents, and an Outline of 45 rings each shape in black.

Make it yours

• 01

  Make it a real sprite

  Set Canvas frame to 1:1 and raise Pixel size until the subject is about 32 to 64 pixels across, the size of the characters in many PICO-8 games.

• 02

  Soften the black ring

  An Outline of 45 suits bold subjects on calm backgrounds. On a busy photo lower it to 25, or bring Contrast down to 0 so fewer edges are strong enough to be traced.

FAQ