pixel-art

Convert images into retro pixel art PNGs and animate them into MP4 or GIF videos.

6|1|Updated May 11, 2026
One-click install
npx skills add https://github.com/yakeworld/Synthos --skill pixel-art-yakeworld
Or copy as Structured Prompt for Agent
Please help me install this Agent Skill.
Skill: pixel-art
Source: https://github.com/yakeworld/Synthos/tree/main/skills/extended/external-automation/creative/image-art/pixel-art
Command: npx skills add https://github.com/yakeworld/Synthos --skill pixel-art-yakeworld

SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION & REQUIREMENTS

💡 This Skill requires Pillow, ffmpeg, and includes scripts (resource) and references (resource) components.

What problem does it solve? It turns ordinary photos or images into era-accurate retro pixel art and optionally animates the result into short looping videos, without requiring manual pixel-by-pixel editing or video compositing work. ## Core Features & Use Cases - Preset-based pixel conversion: 14 presets (arcade, NES, Game Boy, PICO-8, C64, SNES, and more) apply Floyd-Steinberg dithering against hardware-accurate or adaptive palettes with configurable block sizes. - Procedural animation overlays: 12 scenes (night, rain, snow, fire, storm, underwater, etc.) layer particle effects like fireflies, embers, and lightning onto the pixel art, encoded to MP4 via ffmpeg with optional GIF export. - Use Case: A user wants a Game Boy-style avatar with falling snow for a social post. The skill converts their photo with the gameboy preset, then runs the snow scene to produce a 6-second looping MP4 and GIF. ## Quick Start Ask the assistant to convert your image to pixel art with a chosen preset such as NES or Game Boy, and optionally request an animated scene like night or snow to get an MP4 output.

Frequently Asked Questions about pixel-art

High-intent search queries and answers about installing and using this skill.

FAQPage Schema
How do I convert a photo to pixel art in Python?

Call pixel_art(input_path, output_path, preset="nes") from the pixel_art.py script, or run it via CLI with python pixel_art.py in.jpg out.png --preset nes. It downscales with NEAREST resampling, quantizes with Floyd-Steinberg dithering, and upscales back to the original size.

How do I animate a pixel art image into a video?

Use pixel_art_video(base_image, output_path, scene="night", duration=6, fps=15) to overlay procedural effects like stars, rain, or snowflakes and encode to MP4 via ffmpeg. Set export_gif=True to also produce a looping GIF.

What retro palettes and presets are available for pixel art conversion?

There are 14 presets including arcade, snes, nes, gameboy, pico8, c64, and neon, backed by 28 named palettes such as NES (54 colors), PICO_8, GAMEBOY_ORIGINAL, and ZX_SPECTRUM. Palette names are case-sensitive strings passed via the palette parameter.

Does pixel art video generation require ffmpeg?

Yes, ffmpeg must be on PATH for video encoding; the script raises a RuntimeError if it is missing. Still-image conversion with pixel_art.py only needs Python 3.9+ and Pillow.

Why does my pixel art lose all detail on small images?

Sources under 100px wide collapse when using 8-10px block sizes because only a handful of blocks remain. Upscale the source image first or reduce the block parameter to 2-4px to preserve detail.