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Pixelate

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Filter

Reduces an image to chunky pixel blocks with adjustable block size and nearest, average, or median sampling.

Pixelate divides the image into square blocks and replaces each block with a single color sampled from its contents. Nearest picks the top-left pixel, Average blends all pixels in the block, and Median picks the middle value for a cleaner result.

Match Input Size upscales the blocky result back to the original resolution using nearest-neighbor interpolation, so the output dimensions stay consistent with the rest of your pipeline. Disable it if you want the actual reduced-resolution image.

Parameters

Section titled “Parameters”

Pixelate

Pixel Size pxInteger
Default: 8 Range: 2–64

Size of each pixel block; higher = more pixelated

ModeChoice
Default: Nearest

Downscale method per block

  • NearestUse the top-left pixel of each block — sharp, no blending.
  • AverageAverage all pixels in each block — smooth, blended color.
  • MedianUse the median pixel value — reduces impact of outliers and noise.

Output

Match Input SizeToggle
Default: true

Upscale back to original resolution with nearest-neighbor

Usage Tips

Section titled “Usage Tips”
  • Use Average mode for the smoothest color representation per block.
  • Median mode reduces the impact of outlier pixels and works well for noisy source images.
  • Combine with Posterize or Quantize for a full retro pixel art aesthetic.
  • Disable Match Input Size to get the actual low-resolution output for retro game assets.
Section titled “Related Nodes”