Prompt Recipes | Pixel Refiner

Before You Start: The Idea

Pixel Refiner can automatically fix blurred pixels, misaligned grids, and too many colors. Problems that come from the generated image itself, however, cannot be fixed at the conversion stage.

This page collects prompts that prevent the unfixable problems while the image is being generated.

What the tool can fix (no need to worry when generating)

Blurred pixels and anti-aliasing
Uneven scaling of pixel size and misaligned grids
Too many colors (color reduction and palette conversion)
Background transparency for flat backgrounds

What the tool cannot fix (prevent it when generating)

The background color also appears inside the subject
The subject is cropped at the edge of the image
Shadows, glows, and soft shadows
A slight tilt across the whole image
Several subjects packed into one image

Zoom In and the Generated Image Is Blurred

From a distance a generated image looks like pixel art, but zoom in and the edge of a single dot fades over several pixels, and the color drifts within one dot. Image models do not follow the pixel grid exactly, so a generated image is hard to use as an asset as it is: put it in a game or a UI and the outlines look soft.

Pixel Refiner snaps these blurred dots back onto a grid and repaints each dot in a single color. The recipes below are about generating images that are easy to snap back.

A generated knight sprite that looks like pixel art at a glance — The same generated image. On the right, 80×80 pixels from the top left of the helmet are enlarged 4×: the boundary between dots is smeared, and intermediate colors appear between the background and the outline.

Close-up of the top left of the helmet: every dot edge fades over several pixels — The same generated image. On the right, 80×80 pixels from the top left of the helmet are enlarged 4×: the boundary between dots is smeared, and intermediate colors appear between the background and the outline.

Five Basic Principles

Principle 1: Use a flat, saturated background color that never appears in the subject

When the background color also appears in the subject — a character with white eyes on a white background, for example — background transparency can eat into the subject. Pick a hue far from the subject: green (#00FF00) for warm-colored subjects, magenta (#FF00FF) for green ones.

full frame edge-to-edge solid bright green background (#00FF00),
no gradient, no texture, no vignette

Principle 2: No drop shadows, glows, or soft shadows

The semi-transparent gradient between the subject and the background leaves a fringe or discolors the outline once the background is removed.

no drop shadow, no outer glow, flat lighting

Principle 3: Keep the subject uncropped and leave a margin

When the subject touches the edge of the image, background estimation breaks down. Compose so the whole subject fits with margin around it.

full body, centered, with margin around the subject, not cropped

Principle 4: Do not tilt the image

Images whose pixel grid is slightly tilted are hard to handle. Ask for a straight composition at generation time.

upright, front view, straight-on

Principle 5: One subject per image, with a uniform pixel size

Sheets that pack several sprites into one image, or images whose pixel size varies from place to place, confuse grid detection.

single character, consistent pixel size throughout, chunky pixels

What you do not need to work hard for

You do not need to remove anti-aliasing completely, or to land on exactly 32×32 pixels, at the generation stage. Even when an instruction such as 32x32 pixel art is not followed literally, it still pushes the model toward larger, more uniform pixels, so it is worth including.

Recipes

Each recipe shows a prompt, the image it generated, the Pixel Refiner settings, and the converted result. Each example was generated with the shown prompt and converted with the shown settings.

Recipe 1: Game character sprite

GoalThe basic form of a transparent asset. The themes are how to choose the background color (a warm-colored character against a magenta background) and leaving margin so the subject is never cropped.

Pixel art sprite of a knight character, full body, front view, standing pose,
16-bit retro game style, chunky pixels, limited color palette, flat shading,
centered with margin around the character,
full frame edge-to-edge solid magenta background (#FF00FF), no drop shadow, no outer glow, no gradient

Generated image for recipe 1: a knight sprite with a sword and shield on a magenta background — Generated image (2048×2048 px, shown scaled down)

Pixel Refiner settingsLeave Preset on “Best Match” (the background is made transparent automatically).

Converted result for recipe 1: the knight sprite with a transparent background — Converted result (Best Match, 60×85 px output)

Recipe 2: Item icon

GoalA single object for UI use. Pairing a red subject with a green background makes the two easy to separate for clean background removal.

Pixel art of a red potion bottle, single centered object, low resolution,
flat colors, limited palette, full frame edge-to-edge solid bright green background (#00FF00),
chroma key background fills entire canvas, completely green from edge to edge,
no borders, no margins, no frame, no white background, no shadow, no reflection

Generated image for recipe 2: a red potion bottle on a bright green background — Generated image (2752×1536 px, shown scaled down)

Pixel Refiner settingsChoose the “Transparent Icon” preset. It removes the background and reduces the image to 32 colors.

Converted result for recipe 2: the potion bottle with a transparent background — Converted result (Transparent Icon, 16×23 px output)

Recipe 3: Retro handheld look (Game Boy palette)

GoalAsk for few tones at the generation stage, then let palette conversion map them exactly onto the four tones of the console you choose. The generated colors themselves do not survive, so the background is specified for easy removal — red against a green subject — rather than for the finished look.

Pixel art sprite of a small dragon, Game Boy style, 4-color monochrome green palette,
low resolution, chunky pixels, full frame edge-to-edge solid red background (#FF0000)

Generated image for recipe 3: a green dragon on a red background — Generated image (2816×1536 px, shown scaled down)

Pixel Refiner settingsChoose the “Retro Game Style” preset. The background is made transparent automatically.

Converted result for recipe 3: the dragon in four shades of gray with a transparent background — Converted result (Retro Game Style, 44×47 px output)

Recipe 4: Scenery for a background

GoalA case without transparency. A landscape with no characters or props is turned into pixel art you can use as a background as it is. The key is asking for few elements and large pixels.

Pixel art background illustration for an 8-bit retro JRPG, NES style, wide grassland with distant mountains under a clear morning sky, scenery only, no characters, no creatures, no objects, no buildings, no items, ultra low-res 64x64 pixel art scaled up, extremely chunky visible square pixels, simple composition, strict limited 8-color palette, strict retro pixel grid, sharp square edges, hard dithering, absolutely no anti-aliasing, no smooth gradients, no blur, no text, no UI, no frame

Generated image for recipe 4: green fields and blue mountains beneath a bright sky — Generated image (2752×1536 px; whole image and the peak edge cropped to the same area)

Close-up of the pixel boundary along the left-hand mountain peak before conversion — Generated image (2752×1536 px; whole image and the peak edge cropped to the same area)

Pixel Refiner settingsChoose the “Background Artwork” preset.

Converted result for recipe 4: the mountain landscape kept as a full-frame background — Converted result (Background Artwork, 256×144 px; whole image and the same peak edge, one dot enlarged to 10 px)

Close-up of the same pixel boundary after conversion, with colors and edges aligned to the pixel grid — Converted result (Background Artwork, 256×144 px; whole image and the same peak edge, one dot enlarged to 10 px)

Recipe 5: Turn a normal illustration into pixel art

GoalEven with models or styles that cannot generate pixel art directly, an ordinary illustration can be converted into pixel art. Flat coloring and thick outlines survive the conversion well, so ask for them instead of asking for pixel art.

Cute chibi character illustration, cel shading, flat colors, thick outlines,
full frame edge-to-edge solid blue background, no gradients, no drop shadow

Generated image for recipe 5: a chibi character in flat colors on a blue background — Generated image (2816×1536 px, shown scaled down)

Pixel Refiner settingsChoose the “Convert Illustration to Pixel Art” preset. To make the pixels coarser or finer, adjust Pixel Detail in Quick Settings afterward.

Converted result for recipe 5: the chibi character redrawn as pixel art with a transparent background — Converted result (Convert Illustration to Pixel Art, 60×81 px output)

When It Does Not Work

Symptom	Cause	How to fix the prompt
Holes appear in the whites of the character's eyes	The background color also appears inside the subject	Switch the background to a saturated color that never appears in the subject (for example `full frame edge-to-edge solid magenta background`)
A fringe of background color remains or bleeds around the outline	A shadow or glow surrounds the subject	Add `no drop shadow, no outer glow, flat lighting`
The output is far too small, or pixels collapse	Pixel size is not uniform within the image	Add `consistent pixel size throughout`. If the result chooser appears, compare the candidates and pick one
Outlines ripple with jagged steps or run diagonally	The generated image is slightly tilted	Add `upright, straight-on` and generate again
The edge of the subject is missing	The subject is cropped at the edge of the image	Add `full body, centered, with margin, not cropped`

Notes

The samples were generated with Google Gemini (Nano Banana 2). How well a prompt works depends on the model and its version. When the result is not what you intended, vary the wording a little, generate several times, and pick the one image that matches the principles on this page.