Tomodachi Life pixel art maker
Turn any picture into a grid you can paint in the Palette House of Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, using only the game's own 84 colors.
Drop an image here
or paste one with Ctrl+V
PNG, JPG, WebP, GIF or SVG
No image handy? Try a sample:
100% private: your images are processed in your browser and never uploaded.
Pixel art in Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream
In the Palette House you draw your own food, clothes, pets, treasures, house fronts and island objects for your Miis. Lots of players fill them with pixel art: favorite characters, logos, real meals, album covers or their own pets.
The catch is that the game can't import pictures, so every design is painted by hand, one square at a time. This tool does the planning for you. It fits your picture onto the Palette House grid, matches every square to the closest of the game's 84 colors, and shows where each color is in the palette.
How to make pixel art in Tomodachi Life
From a picture to a finished design in four steps. Everything happens in your browser.
- 1
Upload a picture
Pick a PNG, JPG, WebP or GIF, or try a sample. Your picture never leaves your device.
- 2
Choose the canvas and squares
Square fits food, clothes and most items; books, TV shows and games have their own shapes. 32×32 squares is the usual choice.
- 3
Pick how many colors
Fewer colors means less switching while you paint. Every color is one of the Palette House's 84, so what you see is what you can paint.
- 4
Paint it color by color
In the Palette House, switch to Pro mode, turn on the grid and pick the square brush. Then follow the painting guide or the printed chart, one color at a time.
Which grid size should you use?
The square canvas is 256 × 256 pixels. The brush size decides how many squares fit across it, so how much detail you get and how long it takes to paint.
| Squares | Brush | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| 16×16256 squares | 16 px | Icons, logos, emoji faces and simple food. Done in a few minutes. |
| 32×321,024 squares | 8 px | Characters, clothes prints and most designs. The size most players use. |
| 64×644,096 squares | 4 px | Portraits and detailed pictures. Lovely results, but it takes patience by hand. |
Books are 180 × 256 pixels, TV shows 256 × 131 and games 256 × 144, so they hold fewer squares. Choose the canvas in the tool and it works out the grid.
The 84 Palette House colors
The ready-made colors of the Palette House's Pro mode, laid out as the game shows them: rows A to G from the top, columns 1 to 12 from the left. Column 12 is the strip of bright pure colors.
Show the hex codes
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | FFFFFF | F2F1F9 | F1F1F9 | F0F9FF | F0FBF3 | F0F5EF | F4FAEE | FCFDEF | FDF4EF | FBF1EF | FDEDDC | FE0000 |
| B | EBEBEB | D0C9EA | C8CEE8 | C8E8FD | C7F2D7 | C8DBC8 | DAEEC8 | FCFAC9 | FCD7C7 | F0CAC9 | E5D0B1 | FFFF00 |
| C | D5D5D3 | A693D7 | 929FD4 | 92D6FD | 91E7B8 | 93BD95 | BBE194 | FAF492 | F9B592 | E29792 | CBAA77 | 00FF00 |
| D | BCBCBC | 6500C4 | 004ABD | 00C2FD | 00DB91 | 009615 | 92D315 | F7F100 | F68400 | D52600 | 90620C | 00FFFF |
| E | 9C9C9A | 5500A8 | 0040A4 | 00A6D8 | 00BC7A | 007F0C | 7CB50C | D5CF00 | D57100 | B62200 | 774200 | 0000FE |
| F | 727272 | 410084 | 003281 | 0083AA | 00935F | 00650C | 618E0D | A8A300 | A75800 | 901600 | 5D380C | 8800FF |
| G | 000000 | 21004B | 001648 | 004962 | 005534 | 003800 | 345100 | 605D00 | 602D00 | 500C00 | 34220C | FF00C4 |
Tips for painting pixel art in the Palette House
A few habits that make painting by hand quicker and the result cleaner.
- 01
Switch to Pro mode
Easy mode has fewer colors and tools. Pro mode has the full 84-color palette and the square brushes you need for clean pixel art.
- 02
Turn on the grid and zoom in
Show the grid lines and zoom in until each square is easy to hit. The heavier line every 10 squares on the chart helps you keep count.
- 03
Paint one color at a time
Changing colors takes a few presses, so paint every square of one color before moving on. Start with the color that covers the most, and fill big areas in one go.
- 04
Use the touchscreen
The Palette House works with touch, so in handheld mode you can tap squares directly instead of steering a cursor. A stylus helps with small squares.
- 05
Pick a simple picture
Bold shapes, clear outlines and few colors work best: characters, logos and icons. Photos need 64×64 squares and more colors to be recognizable.
- 06
Leave out the background
Transparent parts of a PNG stay empty squares that you don't need to paint, so a cut-out character is much quicker than a full picture.
Tomodachi Life pixel art FAQ
Is this Tomodachi Life pixel art maker free?
Yes. It's free, with no account or download. It runs in your browser, and your pictures are never uploaded.
Can I import a picture straight into Tomodachi Life?
No. Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream can't import images, and no website can put a design into your game. You paint it yourself in the Palette House, with this tool's grid and chart as your guide.
Which colors does it use?
Only the 84 ready-made colors of the Palette House's Pro mode, measured from the game. Pro mode can mix other shades too, but you can't type a color in, so picking from the palette is much quicker and always exact.
What size should my design be?
32×32 squares, painted with the 8 px brush, suits most designs. Choose 16×16 for icons and simple food, or 64×64 for portraits if you're patient. Books, TV shows and games have their own canvas shapes.
How do I find a color in the palette?
Each color has a place like C5: row C from the top, column 5 from the left of the Pro mode palette. The painting guide shows it on a map of the palette, and the chart's color key lists it for every number.
Can I use it for a Mii's face paint?
Yes, as a reference. Face paint has its own drawing screen shaped like the Mii's face, so convert only the part you need, like a mask or a pair of eyes, and match its size to the face in the game.
Can I share my designs with friends?
In the game, you can share what you make with nearby players over local wireless, but there's no online sharing. To share a design any further, send the chart or the PNG from this page.
Does it work for Nintendo Switch 2?
Yes. Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream plays on Nintendo Switch and Switch 2, with the same Palette House. This page works on phones, tablets and computers, so you can keep the guide open next to your console.
Is this an official Tomodachi Life tool?
No. Online Pixel Art is an independent, free tool made by fans of pixel art. It isn't made, approved or supported by Nintendo.