How to Use These
Upload any photo to an AI image generator and paste one of the prompts below. Each one applies a specific retro visual effect on top of your exact image.
Nothing about the subject, pose, or composition changes. Only the style and texture change.
Also read: Edit Videos Just By Chatting With These 13 AI Tools
All 10 are ready to copy and use.
1. 16-Bit Sprite
Turns your photo into a retro video game character. Flat pixel blocks, a limited saturated color palette, and chunky pixelated edges, like something out of a 16-bit era game.
Prompt: Apply a 16-bit retro video game pixel-art effect to this image. Convert it into flat pixel blocks with a limited saturated color palette, chunky pixelated edges. Do not change the subject, pose, composition, or add/remove any elements, only apply the pixel-art style on top of the exact same image.
2. Fat Pixel
A more extreme version of pixel art. Oversized flat-color pixel blocks with hard stair-step edges. Lower resolution, chunkier look than the 16-bit style.
Prompt: Apply a large chunky low-resolution pixel-art effect to this image. Use oversized flat-color pixel blocks with hard stair-step edges. Keep the exact same subject, pose, and composition, do not add, remove, or alter anything else in the image.
3. Bootleg Pixel
Gives your photo that cheap bootleg VCD or DVD cover look. Warm oversaturated tones, heavy dot texture, and a low-quality print compression feel, like something photocopied a dozen times.
Prompt: Apply a bootleg VCD/DVD-cover style pixelated print effect to this image, warm oversaturated tones, heavy dot/pixel texture, low-quality print compression look. Do not change the subject, pose, or composition, only apply this texture/color effect on the same image.
4. ASCII
Converts your photo into ASCII art. Brightness and shadow areas get translated into dense text-character texture while the original photo is still visible underneath.
Prompt: Apply an ASCII text-character effect to this image, converting brightness/shadow areas into dense text-character texture while keeping the original photo visible underneath. Do not change the subject, pose, or composition, only add the ASCII text overlay effect.
5. Terminal
Turns your photo into an old-school green monochrome computer terminal display. Dense stippled dot texture, phosphor CRT glow, and a black background, like something out of an old sci-fi movie.
Prompt: Apply a glowing green monochrome dot-matrix terminal effect to this image, dense stippled dot texture, phosphor CRT glow, black background. Do not change the subject, pose, or composition, only apply this color/texture effect.
6. Risograph
Gives your photo a risograph print aesthetic. Teal and hot-pink duotone color grading with slight print misregistration and grainy halftone texture. The look popular in indie zines and art prints.
Prompt: Apply a risograph print effect to this image, teal and hot-pink duotone color grading with slight print misregistration and grainy halftone texture. Do not change the subject, pose, or composition, only apply this color/texture effect.
7. Dither 1-Bit
Converts your photo to pure black and white using Atkinson dithering. No grayscale at all, just fine dot patterns creating the illusion of shading. The classic old Macintosh screen look.
Prompt: Apply a 1-bit black-and-white Atkinson dithering effect to this image, convert only to pure black and white pixels with fine dot-pattern texture, no grayscale. Do not change the subject, pose, or composition, only apply this dithering effect.
8. Punk Collage
Gives your photo a punk zine collage look. Black-and-white halftone print style with a pink background and hand-drawn doodle textures around the edges. DIY, rebellious, cut-and-paste energy.
Prompt: Apply a punk zine collage effect to this image, black-and-white halftone print look with a pink background and hand-drawn doodle textures around the edges. Do not change the main subject, pose, or composition, only apply this style/border effect.
9. CMYK Dots
Applies a CMYK offset-print halftone effect. Visible cyan, magenta, yellow, and black dot rosette texture with slight color-channel misregistration, like a page from an old comic book or newspaper.
Prompt: Apply a CMYK offset-print halftone dot effect to this image, visible cyan, magenta, yellow, black dot rosette texture with slight color-channel misregistration. Do not change the subject, pose, or composition, only apply this print-texture effect.
10. Halftone Print
A high-contrast black-and-white halftone effect with dense dot-pattern shading and a glowing blue background bleed. Bold, graphic, poster-like.
Prompt: Apply a high-contrast black-and-white halftone print effect to this image, dense dot-pattern shading with a glowing blue background bleed. Do not change the subject, pose, or composition, only apply this halftone print style effect.
Tips for Better Results
Every prompt includes a line telling the AI not to change the subject, pose, or composition. That’s intentional. Without it, AI image tools tend to reinterpret the whole scene instead of just applying a style layer on top.
Read more: 7 Vibe Coding Prompts That Build Million-Dollar Apps
If the effect comes out too subtle or too extreme, ask the AI to adjust the intensity. Something like “make the pixel blocks larger” or “reduce the dot density” usually works.
You can also stack effects. Run the ASCII prompt first, then apply the terminal color treatment to the result for a more layered retro computer look. Experiment with combinations to find your own style.
If you want to explore more AI tools, check our homepage. Or visit the Blog for more prompts and tutorials like this one.
