PixelVibe Guide — Advanced Features
Go beyond basic conversion with fine-tuned settings for professional pixel art results.
Pooling (Color Extraction)
Choose how colors are sampled within each grid cell. Mode picks the most frequent color (best for characters/icons). Mean averages all colors (best for backgrounds). K-Means clusters colors into 3 groups and uses the largest group's average (best for AI-generated images).
Dithering
Bayer 4x4 ordered dithering creates smooth gradients with limited color palettes. Recommended ON for low-color palettes (GameBoy, CGA) and gradient-heavy images. Toggle with D key.
Edge Enhancement
Automatically adds outlines to sprites on transparent backgrounds. Stroke Width controls thickness (0-3). Alpha Threshold controls how semi-transparent pixels are detected — higher values ignore more semi-transparent pixels for cleaner outlines.
Offset (Grid Offset)
Fine-tune the grid's sampling position using the XY Pad. Useful when important details (eyes, weapon tips) get split across cell boundaries.
Safe Area
Adds transparent padding around the output. Use 1 for game sprites, 1-2 for icon sets, 0 for seamless background tiles.
Built-in Palettes
- PICO-8 — 16 colors, the indie game classic
- GameBoy — 4 green-tone colors, extreme retro
- NES — 54 colors, Famicom authenticity
- Grayscale — 8 shades, atmospheric monochrome
- CGA — 4 colors, 1980s IBM PC aesthetic
- Nyandigo — 8 colors, calm indigo-based palette
Pro users can upload custom palettes in .hex format or extract colors from images using K-Means quantization.
Recommended Recipes
- Classic Game Sprite: Grid 12-16, Mode, PICO-8, Dither OFF, Edge 1, Safe 1
- Retro Profile: Grid 8-12, Mean, GameBoy, Dither ON, Edge 0, Safe 0
- HD Background: Grid 2-4, Mean, Original, Dither ON, Edge 0, Safe 0
- Minimal Icons: Grid 24-32, Mode, PICO-8/Grayscale, Dither OFF, Edge 1-2, Safe 1, Square
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