Productivity Tools

Pixel Art Maker

Create pixel art online with a free pixel art grid maker. Pick your grid size, choose your colours, and draw directly in your browser. No software needed.

✓ Free to Use ✓ No Sign-up Required ✓ PNG Export

Grid Size 8-64 pixels

Quick Start Templates

Drawing Tools

Draw

Erase

Fill

Pick

Symmetry Mode

Custom Color

Color Palette

Download Quality

Show Grid Lines in Download

Why FileReadyNow

Create Pixel Art Online with a Free Browser-Based Editor

Pick your grid size, choose your colours, and draw directly in the browser with no software to install.

Adjustable Grid Size

Choose your canvas dimensions from small 8x8 sprites up to larger grids for more detailed artwork.

Full Colour Picker

Select any colour using a hex picker or colour wheel, with a palette of recently used colours kept handy as you work.

Draw, Fill, and Erase

Switch between pencil, fill bucket, and eraser tools to build and refine your pixel art efficiently.

Undo and Redo

Step backwards through your recent changes or redo them without losing your work if you make a mistake.

Export as PNG

Download your finished pixel art as a transparent or solid-background PNG file ready to use in any project.

No Account Needed

Open the canvas and start drawing. No signup, no watermark on the download, and no install required.

What Is a Pixel Art Maker?

A pixel art maker is a grid-based drawing tool where each square on the grid represents one pixel. You colour in individual squares to build up an image, the same way digital artists created game sprites and icons back in the 8-bit and 16-bit era. The style is still hugely popular today for games, profile pictures, stickers, NFTs, and social media content.

This tool lets you create pixel art directly in your browser without downloading any software. You get a customisable grid, a full colour palette, drawing tools, undo history, symmetry mode, and PNG export. Whether you're a complete beginner looking for simple pixel art ideas or an experienced artist who wants a quick online canvas, it has everything you need to get started and finish a piece.

Grid Sizes and What They're Good For

The pixel art grid maker supports grid sizes from 8x8 up to 64x64. The size you choose shapes how your art looks and how long it takes to make. Here's a rough guide:

8x8 to 16x16 is the classic game sprite size. Great for icons, simple characters, hearts, stars, and small symbols. The limited space forces you to be creative and is a good starting point if you're new to pixel art.
20x20 to 32x32 gives you more room to add detail, shading, and expression to characters or objects. This range works well for profile pictures, avatars, and slightly more complex designs.
48x48 to 64x64 opens up space for full scenes, landscapes, detailed portraits, or anything that needs fine colour gradients. Takes more time but lets you create genuinely impressive pieces.

You can change the grid size at any time by typing a new number into the grid size field. The canvas will reset, so finish or download your current work before switching.

Pixel Art Ideas to Get You Started

If you're staring at a blank grid and not sure what to make, here are some popular pixel art ideas that work well at different skill levels:

Game characters and sprites are the most classic pixel art subject. Try recreating a favourite character from an old game, or design your own original hero, villain, or creature on a 16x16 or 32x32 grid.
Food and objects like a pizza slice, a cup of coffee, or a small house are simple, recognisable, and satisfying to finish. Great for beginners and for making stickers or emoji-style icons.
Nature scenes including sunsets, forests, mountains, or a pixel art night sky look striking at larger grid sizes and are popular as desktop wallpapers or game backgrounds.
Letters and text in a pixel font style work well for logos, name tags, banners, and personalised gifts.
Profile pictures and avatars are one of the most common uses. A small pixel character or a simplified self-portrait on a 32x32 grid makes a distinctive social media avatar.
Seasonal and holiday designs like Christmas trees, pumpkins, or fireworks are quick to make and perfect for social media posts.

Downloading and Using Your Pixel Art

When you're ready to save, click "Download PNG" and your artwork exports as a PNG file. You can choose from four quality levels that control how many real pixels represent each grid square in the final image. Low gives a small file size, Very High gives a large crisp image suitable for printing or displaying at scale.

The toggle to show or hide grid lines in the download is useful depending on how you want to use the file. Keeping grid lines on makes the pixel grid visible in the image, which looks great for sharing process shots or making it clear it's pixel art. Turning them off gives a clean image without visible borders between cells, which looks better for icons, avatars, and anything being used in a design.

PNG is the best format for pixel art because it uses lossless compression, meaning no quality is lost and the sharp pixel edges stay crisp. It also supports transparency, so if you leave parts of the grid empty they will export as a transparent background rather than white.

Step by Step

How to Make Pixel Art Online for Free

Set your grid size. Enter a number between 8 and 64 in the grid size field. A smaller grid like 16x16 is great for simple icons and characters. A larger grid like 48x48 gives you more room for detailed scenes and pixel art ideas with shading.

Pick a colour and start drawing. Click any colour from the palette or use the colour picker to set a custom shade. Select the Draw tool and click or drag across the grid to fill in pixels. Use Fill to flood an entire area instantly.

Use templates to get started faster. Pick one of the quick-start templates like a heart, star, or smiley face to load a base design onto the grid. Then edit it, recolour it, or use it as a reference for your own creation.

Undo mistakes and refine your work. Use the Undo and Redo buttons to step back through your changes. The Erase tool lets you clear individual pixels, and the Symmetry Mode mirrors your strokes so both sides of your design match automatically.

Download your pixel art. Choose your export quality (Low, Medium, High, or Very High) and toggle grid lines on or off in the download. Click "Download PNG" and your pixel art saves as a PNG file ready to use anywhere.

Frequently Asked Questions

Open the pixel art maker, set your grid size between 8 and 64, pick a colour from the palette, and start clicking squares to fill them in. Use the Draw, Fill, and Erase tools to build your design. When you're happy with it, click "Download PNG" to save it to your device. No signup or software needed.

Start with a small grid like 16x16 and pick one of the quick-start templates as a base. A heart, star, or smiley face gives you something to work from rather than a blank canvas. Use just two or three colours at first. As you get more comfortable, try larger grids and more detailed pixel art ideas.

It depends on what you're making. 16x16 is ideal for simple icons and game sprites. 32x32 works well for character avatars and more detailed objects. 48x48 to 64x64 suits full scenes or anything that needs fine detail and shading.

Your pixel art downloads as a PNG file. PNG is the best format for pixel art because it keeps sharp edges, supports transparent backgrounds, and doesn't lose quality on compression.

Yes. You can design sprites, icons, characters, and tiles using this pixel art grid maker and export them as PNG files. The transparent background export option is especially useful for game assets that need to be placed over different backgrounds.

Yes, completely free with no account required. You can create and download as many pixel art designs as you like without any charges, watermarks, or limits.