PixelOver

In the age of computers, many new art styles have started taking off, and pixel art numbers among them. Whether pixel artworks appeal to you is a different discussion, but it's notable how, as time goes on, software to make the creation process easier gets developed.

One example is PixelOver, a program that was designed to help users turn their images into full-blown pixel art, featuring many ways to make the process more accessible, owing to the many functionalities housed in its intuitive interface.

While starting out with the program may seem a little confusing at first, playing around with its functions for a bit is enough to accommodate new users. Right off the bat, you can use the provided sample projects to get a feel for how everything works: though you may not know what all of its functions do, the familiarity of the interface means that there's not much acclimating to be done in that regard.

Still, users can insert their images by just dropping them onto the program, and they can begin adjusting right away. Basic image editing options such as modifying the brightness, hue, contrast, gamma, and saturation of the image are available.

The program works its magic through the Indexation and Dithering functions, which it uses to generate the pixel art for your image. The software can generate an indexation palette based on your photo, or you can do it yourself. You can tweak the generated result by adjusting the palette size, thereby boosting the clarity of the pixelation. Couple that with some dithering, and you'll have some pixel art you can call your own.

There are many other features: you can add a mask for more thorough pixelation, use the resampling algorithm to tweak the look of the pixels, add in some water and shockwave effects to make everything flowy, and animate it all.

There's an animation functionality available, and this works best in conjunction with the provided effects. The water sample project best illustrates this: you can bring your pixel art to life through the built-in animation tool.

There's a lot you can do with PixelOver, and this review only scratches the surface of its capabilities. It's best you try it out yourself, and maybe you'll be surprised at how intriguing pixel art can be when it's manipulated through the right software.