Enabling 3D mode allows for designing pictures with multiple layers, where some pixels protrude further out than others
This may not be a good fit for all images, but can work quite well in many cases
Supported image formats are dependent on your browser's compatibility
Images with transparency may not preview correctly
Be careful when using high resolutions - this can cause performance issues on less powerful machines, especially during PDF generation
Computing the depth map can be computationally expensive. Be prepared to wait a bit, and be careful, especially if you have a less powerful device.
How does this work?The depth map is computed using a DNN (deep neural network). For the reasons described in the 'about' section, everything is run entirely within the browser, using a modified version of ONNX.js. The model used is MiDaS - more specifically, the small ONNX version which can be found here.
This controls how smooth or crisp the image looks after resizing
● This controls which piece colors can be used to create the image
● Color names follow common brick color names
● The final preview works best when there are enough pieces to fill the picture
● You can import a saved color list if you want to reuse the same piece colors later.
Pieces Needed:Important: Infinite piece counts were used, since a linear error dithering algorithm was selected in the 'Pixel Color Style' section, or a variable piece type was selected in the 'Piece Style' section
Note: Any colors painted using the paintbrush are assumed to exist when infinite piece counts are enabled
| Color | Quantity Available |
|---|
Important: Since a variable size pixel type was selected, 'Use All Available Colors' under 'Available Piece Colors' was enabled - be careful!
Available Sizes:● Controls how closely photo colors are matched to available piece colors. Advanced Matching usually gives the most natural result.
● Controls how clean or detailed the final pixel art looks.
● Balanced is the best default. Detailed keeps more texture. Clean keeps larger color areas smoother.
Important: Since this is a linear error dithering algorithm, 'Use All Available Colors' under 'Available Piece Colors' was enabled - be careful!
It's often best to use 'Standard Matching' for the color distance function, for mathematical cleanliness
Changing this is useful if you have a large background but not enough pieces to fill it out uniformly in step 4
● Click a pixel to increase its height
● Click a pixel to decrease its height
| Color | Dimensions | Quantity |
|---|
| Color | Quantity Missing |
|---|
The type of piece used depends on 'Piece Style' under step 3
Frame elements are not exported
Longer instructions may be split into multiple files
Color names follow common brick color names
Depending on your hardware and the resolution you've chosen, the pdf can take quite a few seconds to generate. Be prepared to wait if you're generating instructions for larger resolutions, especially for high quality pdfs. Larger resolutions may also cause some slowness on the page or may not work at all on less powerful devices, so I recommend starting at the default and then going up.
● This is a (very) rough preview of what the 3D effect might look like
● Hover your mouse over the image to vary the perspective
● Make sure your depth map is not blank
● This is unlikely to work well on less powerful devices, since this is generated dynamically
● Keep in mind that the effect varies from browser to browser, can be subtle, and may not be 100% representative of what the physical art piece would look like
● This is the set of plates that may be used to generate depth instructions and piece lists
● These pieces are used as padding so that the correct pixels protrude outwards
● Note that larger plates may be difficult to attach/detach from the base
Available Plates:Longer instructions may be split into multiple files
Depending on your hardware and the resolution you've chosen, the pdf can take quite a few seconds to generate. Be prepared to wait if you're generating instructions for larger resolutions, especially for high quality pdfs. Larger resolutions may also cause some slowness on the page or may not work at all on less powerful devices, so I recommend starting at the default and then going up.
Your live preview stays visible while you adjust size, image style, and piece settings.
Below is a recording of my tech talk from BrickCon 2021
If you're interested in understanding how this site works, the talk goes over the techniques and algorithms that were used
It also goes over some ideas that haven't (yet) been implemented within the tool, so it functions fairly well as a more general overview of the Lego mosaic space
You can find the slide deck used in the talk here (with some updates since the talk), and if the video doesn't load, you can find it directly on BrickCon's YouTube channel here
These are some other articles and videos featuring DooPixel Pixel Art Maker
Some are quite interesting even outside the context of this tool in particular, since they go into the history of brick mosaics
Note that some were made when the tool was older
DooPixel Pixel Art Maker lets you upload your own photo and turn it into brick pixel art. The tool generates a preview, matches colors to available piece colors, and creates a parts list for building the design.
DooPixel is an independent brick pixel art tool
Image processing runs directly in your browser. The photo you choose is not uploaded by this page during pixel art generation.
Building guide generation also runs in the browser and may take longer for larger artwork sizes.
This project is customized from open-source browser-based mosaic software.
Note: No user data is stored, so this is just aggregated info based on simple increments
| Date | Images created |
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