How to Generate Pixel Art from a Text Prompt

In this guide we'll make a pixel-art sprite in the image generator (the AI pixel art generator page has examples), from the settings to a sprite you can animate.

Step 1: Pick a pixel size

Set Size to 32x32, 64x64 or 128x128. These are the pixel-art sizes, and picking one switches Style to Pixel Art for you. (512 and 1024 are for smooth, high-resolution art; 1024 needs Voidless+.)

• 32 px: items, icons and small enemies.
• 64 px: player characters and most sprites. A good default.
• 128 px: large characters, bosses and portraits.

Step 2: Set the type and view

Choose a Type: Object for items and props, Character for anything that will move. For a character you'll also get Body (Humanoid or Quadruped), Facing and Pose. Then set Dimension to 2D (side view), Top Down or Isometric to match your game's camera.

Step 3: Choose how many colours

With the Pixel Art style, a Colours slider appears. It sets how many colours (4 to 12) the sprite is reduced to. Fewer colours look more retro and read better at small sizes; more colours keep softer shading. You can also pick a Colour Palette such as Game Boy or Retro to steer the colours.

Step 4: Pick a model

Every model can make pixel art this way, and Flux 2 Klein at 1 credit is a good place to start. For pixel art drawn natively at sprite size, switch the model to Retro Diffusion (10 credits); it uses its own built-in look, so the Style and Colour Palette menus step aside.

Step 5: Write the prompt and generate

Describe the subject in a few words: "a knight with a blue cape and a short sword". The controls already set the view and style, so the prompt doesn't need to. Press Generate. The result appears in Recent requests and is saved to your library.

Step 6: Refine and reuse

If it's close, change one word and generate again. When you have a keeper, click Edit image to open it in the editor, where you can animate it, rotate it into eight directions or edit it with a prompt. Pixel sprites stay on the pixel grid and keep their palette through all of these.

Common mistakes

• A long prompt. A short subject line beats a paragraph.
• The wrong view. Set Dimension before you generate; a side-view sprite won't work in a top-down game.
• Too much detail for the size. At 32 px, a clear silhouette matters more than small details.