How to Make Pixel Art Bigger Without Losing Quality

Hey there! Today, I want to tell you all about resizing pixel art and keeping it sharp. It can be a bit tricky, but with a few tricks up your sleeve, you’ll be able to make your pixel art bigger while maintaining its crispness.

Let’s get right into it!

Understanding Pixel Art

First things first, let’s talk about what pixel art is. Pixel art is a form of digital art where images are created by using tiny blocks called pixels. Each pixel represents a single color and, when put together, forms a picture.

Pixel art is unique because it relies on the grid-like structure of pixels to create visuals. Unlike other types of digital art, pixel art doesn’t have vectors or smooth curves. Instead, it’s all about those individual square pixels.

Why is Resizing a Challenge?

The challenge with resizing pixel art comes from its grid-like structure. When you try to make pixel art bigger, you have to stretch those square pixels, which can result in a loss of sharpness and clarity.

Imagine taking a small picture and stretching it to be ten times bigger. The pixels would become larger, and the image would lose its clarity, looking blurry and distorted. That’s what happens when you try to resize pixel art without the proper technique.

The Secret to Resizing Pixel Art

So, how do you resize pixel art without losing its sharpness? The secret lies in using a technique called “nearest neighbor” interpolation.

When you resize an image with nearest neighbor interpolation, each pixel is duplicated to fill the enlarged space. This means that the sharp edges and details of your pixel art will remain intact.

For example, imagine you have a simple pixel art character with sharp outlines. When you use nearest neighbor interpolation to make it bigger, each pixel will be copied exactly as it is, ensuring that the crisp edges are preserved.

How to Resize Pixel Art with Nearest Neighbor Interpolation

Now that you know the secret, let’s go over how to resize your pixel art using nearest neighbor interpolation:

1. Open your pixel art in an image editing software like Photoshop or GIMP.
2. Go to the “Image” menu and select “Image Size.”
3. Make sure the “Resample” option is set to “Nearest Neighbor.”
4. Enter the desired dimensions for your resized pixel art.
5. Click “OK” and watch as your pixel art gets bigger without losing its sharpness!

Remember, when using nearest neighbor interpolation, the larger you make your pixel art, the more pixelated it might appear. So, be mindful of the size you choose to ensure the final result retains the desired level of clarity.

Conclusion

Well, there you have it! Now you know how to resize pixel art while retaining its sharpness. Just remember to use nearest neighbor interpolation, and you’ll be able to make your pixel art bigger without sacrificing its crisp edges and details.

So go ahead, give it a try! Resize your pixel art and watch it grow while maintaining its original charm. Happy resizing!

Pixel art may look 8-bit but with the right creative flair and Photoshop skills, you can create amazing pieces of art. But resizing and scaling pixel art without it becoming blurry can be tricky. That’s why I’m here to help you with this tutorial.

This time, I turned to a digital artist who specializes in designing magazine layouts. She knows all the tricks to make pixel art look great. So while the words are mine, all the knowledge and skills in this tutorial come from her.

The challenge of resizing pixel art

When you resize pixel art, most programs will automatically blur or lose some of the details. They stretch the pixels to fit the new dimensions, without adding any extra information. This can be a problem for pixel art because it relies on sharpness and blocky edges.

Unlike with photography, where programs can add detail when increasing the image size, pixel art doesn’t have that extra data. So resizing up can risk losing the sharpness we want to keep.

Resize pixel art while keeping it sharp

The good news is that we can resize pixel art and maintain its sharpness using Photoshop. Other programs may work similarly, but I’ll focus on Photoshop since that’s what my friend uses.

Here’s how you can do it:

1. Open your pixel art image in Photoshop.
2. Go to Image and select Image Size.
3. Make sure Preview is enabled.
4. Check the box next to Resample to retain sharpness.
5. Change Interpolation from Automatic to Nearest Neighbor.
6. Enter a percentage in the Width and Height boxes to resize the image.
7. Click OK when you’re done.

Photoshop’s Resample tool allows the program to modify the image appropriately while resizing. It works well for pixel art and fills in most of the necessary data. However, it’s a good idea to closely inspect the image before saving, just in case.

Using percentages instead of exact sizes retains the shape of each pixel. Specifying an exact size can cause Photoshop to change the shape of pixels to fit that size. By using a percentage, each pixel expands by that percentage, preserving its original shape and position relative to the others.

Changing the Interpolation to Nearest Neighbor ensures that Photoshop doesn’t add any detail to the image. When resizing normal images, Photoshop tries to guess the necessary data to retain the image’s details. But for pixel art, we want a precise size increase without additional details. Setting it to Nearest Neighbor achieves this.

Resize pixel art to an exact size

If you need to resize pixel art to an exact size, the process is a bit more involved. For example, if you want to publish it online and need a specific placeholder size, you can resize the pixel image accordingly.

1. Follow the above guide until Step 6.
2. Add ten percent to the desired image size to make it larger than what you need. So if you resized your image to 200% earlier, resize it to 220% here.
3. Go to Image and select Image Size.
4. Set the Width and Height in pixels to your desired size.
5. Change the Interpolation from Automatic.
6. Click OK.

Automatic Interpolation works better in this case because we’re shrinking the image, not enlarging it. It reproduces the pixel art exactly without adding any extra detail. It may sound complicated, but it results in an image that fits your desired dimensions while preserving all its characteristics.

Other graphic or photo editors may work in a similar way. I don’t have much experience with pixel art, so I rely on advice from experts. If you know other ways to resize pixel art without losing sharpness, feel free to share your knowledge with us below!