If you have ever tried to make pixel art in Adobe Photoshop, you will likely have run into some issues. In this quick tutorial, I show you the correct way to create pixel art in Photoshop and some tools to help you create it.

As a starting point, most people will zoom into the pixel layer and then, using the pencil tool, attempt to create their pixel art. This is a great start and technically how you create pixel art in Photoshop, but the problem is that when you resize or export the pixel artwork, it will be blurred and problematic.

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Frequently Asked Questions

If you are looking for a pixel art style guide, click here

How can I create pixel art in Photoshop?

To create pixel art in Photoshop, you will first need to create a small canvas to create your pixel art in. Then, when you are done, you have to upscale the pixel art canvas to your final resolution.

To upscale, at the top bar, go to Image > Image Size, then put the width and height of your desired canvas size in. Finally, make sure Resample is checked on, and the resample option you have selected is Nearest Neighbor (Hard Edges). This will ensure your pixel art is perfectly upscaled without losing quality

What determines my dimension size for pixel art?

The dimensions of your canvas will represent the complexity of your pixel art. The larger the canvas, the more detail (more pixels) you will have. The smaller the canvas, the less detail (fewer pixels).

What specific dimensions should I use for pixel art?

The specific dimensions vary, but to find them, you should start with the end in mind. What is the size of your final canvas? You should take that canvas size and divide both dimensions by a number (around 10-50 for most pixel art). That will give you your pixel art canvas.

Once you make your pixel art, you can upscale it to the original size of your canvas, and you will have a perfect upscaled pixel art. If you do not divide the dimensions evenly, your upscale cannot be perfect, and imperfections will occur; prevent this by dividing your original canvas size by a whole number.

Below is a reference chart for common sizes you may wish to use

Where can I find the pencil tool to do my pixel art with?

The pencil tool can be found in the left toolbar. If you don’t see it, find the paintbrush tool and click and hold on the icon until you see the pencil tool. If your toolbar is hidden, then at the top go to Window > Tools to make it reappear

How can I turn on the grid in Photoshop?

To turn on the visual grid to make your pixel art easier, look at the top bar and go to View > Show > Grid, or hit Cmd/Ctrl+ ‘ to turn it on/off.

How do I adjust the size of my grid?

To make your grid bigger/smaller, go to your Photoshop Settings and find Guides, Grid & Slices. In the menu that appears find Grid, and look for Gridline Every ____ and change this to be smaller or larger. If you want your grid to be 1 pixel large, change it to every 1 pixel; if you want it larger, try 5/10/20 pixels.