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I have a 30×30 image, and I resize it to 60×60. All the original pixels now blur into each other due to anti-aliasing. Is there a way to resize the image but keeping the pixelated look, e.g., 1 black pixel becomes 4 black pixels, rather than a blurry mess. Here is an example: I want the increase the size of the left two pixels such that the outcome is what is shown below, so 1x2 pixels becomes 32x64 pixels eventually, while still having the visual effect of looking like a perfect square:

example

Is there an online / free program that can do this, or perhaps an addon to Paint.NET?

I found How can I resize an image without anti-aliasing?, but it doesn't use Paint.NET So im unsure how to go along with it.

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3 Answers 3

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This answer is for a free software solution, as requested.

You can upscale without anti-aliasing using GIMP which is free and Open Source.

Open the image in GIMP and from the main menu choose Image > Scale image, and set the Interpolation to "None". Change the size as required and hit Scale.

enter image description here

Note: For Paint.NET or other programs that don't have Interpolation, simply choose "Nearest Neighbour" when resizing the image. There should be a dropdown.

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  • How can interpolation of none yeild any result? ;) Bad naming. Pixels are not small squares after all.
    – joojaa
    Commented Jun 22, 2019 at 8:32
  • @joojaa Ask the GIMP developers why they chose it, I can't read their minds ;)
    – Billy Kerr
    Commented Jun 22, 2019 at 9:18
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First:
When you upscale from a very small image, be sure to only enlarge by multiples of the original image size. So, if you start with a 30x30 pixel image, enlarge to 60x60, 90x90, etc. Enlarging to a size that isn't a multiple will force the software to split pixels unevenly, even if anti-aliasing is turned off. This is less important with larger source images.

Second:
When upscaling, choose an upscaling method that does not cause anti-aliasing. In Photoshop, you can use "Nearest Neighbor (hard edges)".

Third:
Save in a format that is friendly to images with hard edges/high contrast transitions, like png (for web) or tiff (for print). Saving as a jpg with compression can cause visible artifacts near the edges.

Original:
enter image description here


300%
enter image description here


600%

enter image description here

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  • It's also worth noting that some software used to view images anti-aliases them, even if the source images have sharp edges. For example, web browsers that can enlarge the page like Chrome (Ctrl + +/-) often render the image with soft edges in zoomed states.
    – 13ruce
    Commented Jun 21, 2019 at 11:55
  • By the way, good job on the answer, someone beat ya to it sadly. But like your comment above, I actually made this question because of Chrome, I wanted to use RAW gui elements from Minecraft to make a html "simulation" of minecraft's UI, and its going well
    – Mister SirCode
    Commented Jun 21, 2019 at 23:29
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I believe I found the answer I wanted.

You can change the default interpolation method in preferences. Choose Nearest Neighbour for no anti-aliasing. You may want to change it back to Bicubic when you´re done, however.

I changed my settings in Paint.Net to nearest neighbor when doubling the size of my image. It kept the sharpness of the image and didn't cause it to blur. The above answers have a bit more context.

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