Why I Built It
I love pixel art. I wanted to pixelate my own photos — just for fun. The apps I found either had aggressive monetization, required sign-ups, or were just ugly to use.
I wanted something that felt like a tool, not a product funnel. Minimal, fast, beautiful. One screen, one action, one result.
The Design Process
I started with constraints. The whole app had to work in one gesture — pick photo, adjust slider, export. No onboarding. No paywall. No permission requests beyond the photo library.
- CoreImage for pixel processing — fast, native, no dependencies
- Single-screen UI — everything visible at once, nothing hidden in menus
- Live preview — changes render in real time as you drag the slider
- Export as PNG or GIF — because animated pixel art is just better
Features
🖼 Photo to Pixel Art
Instantly convert any photo with a single slider. Real-time preview as you adjust.
🎨 Palette Editor
Customize the color palette or use one of the built-in retro presets.
🎞 GIF Export
Export animated pixel art GIFs directly from a video clip.
🔒 Fully Offline
No internet required. No account. No watermark. Ever.
Tech Stack
What I Learned
- One feature done right beats many done poorly — the slider is the whole app
- Real-time preview is non-negotiable — users need to see changes instantly
- Offline-first removes all friction — no loading states, no errors, just the app
- App Store screenshots are half the product — I spent as much time on them as the UI
Try Coffeepixel
Free on the App Store. Turn your photos into pixel art in seconds.