Original illustration
8-bit color, crisp transparency
Add up to 30 images that already have a transparent background (PNG, WebP or AVIF, up to 50 MB each) and turn them into pixel art that keeps the transparency. This page turns on crisp transparency, which makes every pixel either fully transparent or fully solid so the sprite has no faint halo. The tool doesn't remove backgrounds itself; for a photo on a background, cut it out first with the background remover. Output is PNG, GIF or a sprite sheet, made in your browser.
Create pixel art with transparent backgrounds
Pixel art that goes on top of something else needs transparency: game sprites over scrolling levels, stickers on photos, icons on light and dark interfaces, and web graphics on any page color. This transparent pixel art tool converts images with an alpha channel into pixel art and keeps the transparent areas clean.
Why transparency matters for pixel art
Sprites are rarely used on their own. A game character appears in front of terrain, a sticker sits on a chat background, and an icon has to work in light and dark mode. If the area around the sprite is a solid color instead of transparent, you get a visible box.
PNG stores an alpha value for every pixel: fully opaque, fully transparent, or anything between. Pixel art usually uses only fully opaque and fully transparent pixels, which is what the crisp option produces. Semi-transparent pixels can be useful for soft shadows and glows, so you can turn crisp off to keep them.
Sprites for game development
Unity, Godot and GameMaker all use transparent PNG sprites for characters, objects, effects and interface elements. A 2D character usually has several animation frames (idle, walk, jump, attack). Add the frames here, turn on Animate, and export them as a sprite sheet PNG with a JSON frame map, or as an animated GIF.
Stickers and social media
Discord, Telegram and other chat apps support custom stickers and emoji, and those need transparent PNGs. A pixel art sticker with a solid rectangle behind it looks out of place on a chat background.
Web design and interface graphics
Pixel art icons, logos and decorations add personality to a site. With transparent backgrounds they work on any section color and in dark mode.
Starting from a JPG or a photo
JPG files can't store transparency, so they always have a solid background. Remove it first with the background remover, which runs in your browser and saves a transparent PNG, then bring that PNG here to pixelate it. Pixelating first and cutting out afterwards gives rougher edges.
Default settings for this tool
This tool uses the base pixel-art settings (pixel size 8, 8-bit color with the palette set by bit depth, no dithering) and adds Crisp transparency. With it on, every pixel ends up either fully transparent or fully opaque, so soft edges in the source do not leave a faint outline around the subject. The result is a PNG at about the original size.
Crisp transparency only changes images that already contain transparent or semi-transparent pixels. Turn it off if you want to keep soft shadows or glows from the original.
How crisp transparency decides each pixel
The image is first reduced to the pixel grid, so each block's transparency is the blend of the source pixels it covers. Crisp transparency then cuts at the halfway mark: a block that is at least half opaque becomes fully solid, and anything less becomes fully transparent. Edges therefore follow the outline of the subject block by block, and parts thinner than about half a block, such as hair, whiskers or a thin antenna, can drop out. Lower the pixel size or choose a larger sprite size if a thin part matters.
Fully transparent pixels are skipped when colors are reduced and dithered, so the dither pattern never spills into the background. With the "From the image" palette, the colors are taken only from the visible subject as well.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does pixel art support transparency?
Yes. Pixel art saved as PNG keeps a full alpha channel, so each pixel can be opaque, transparent or in between. PNG is the usual format for game sprites, stickers and web graphics.
How do I make a pixel art sprite with a transparent background?
Start from an image with a transparent background, set the pixel size and colors here, and download the PNG. If your image still has its background, remove it first with the AI background remover, then pixelate the cut-out.
Can I convert a JPG to transparent pixel art?
Not directly, because JPG has no transparency. Remove the background with the background remover first, which gives you a transparent PNG, then pixelate that PNG here.
What format should I use for transparent pixel art?
PNG. It is lossless and keeps full alpha transparency. GIF also supports transparency, but only fully on or off, and up to 256 colors, which is fine for animated sprites.
Will the transparency be preserved when I import into a game engine?
Yes. Unity, Godot, GameMaker and other engines read the PNG alpha channel and composite the sprite over your scene. Set the texture filter to nearest (point) so the pixels stay sharp.