Outline Style Reference

Pixel art outline treatments compared: full black, selective, tinted and no-outline — and when each one is the right choice.

Outline treatments

Style	How	Best for
Full black	1px black outline everywhere	8×8 icons, maximum readability
Tinted	Dark tone of the local color	Sprites on varied backgrounds
Selective	Outline only where sprite meets background	16×16+ with internal lighting
Inner light	Outline removed on lit edges	Soft, glowing or pastel styles
None	Color contrast separates shapes	Tiles, UI, minimal styles

Pure black everywhere is the default at 8×8 and the first thing to drop above 16×16.

Never outline internal material boundaries — color boundaries already separate them.

Pixel art shading that reads: one light direction, connected shadow clusters, selective outlines and highlights placed where they tell a story.

A 5-step black-to-white value ramp with a warm paper tint — for high-contrast 1-bit-style games, icons and print-flavored aesthetics.

Pixel art outline treatments compared: full black, selective, tinted and no-outline — and when each one is the right choice.

Style	How	Best for
Full black	1px black outline everywhere	8×8 icons, maximum readability
Tinted	Dark tone of the local color	Sprites on varied backgrounds
Selective	Outline only where sprite meets background	16×16+ with internal lighting
Inner light	Outline removed on lit edges	Soft, glowing or pastel styles
None	Color contrast separates shapes	Tiles, UI, minimal styles

Pure black everywhere is the default at 8×8 and the first thing to drop above 16×16.

Never outline internal material boundaries — color boundaries already separate them.

Pixel art shading that reads: one light direction, connected shadow clusters, selective outlines and highlights placed where they tell a story.

A 5-step black-to-white value ramp with a warm paper tint — for high-contrast 1-bit-style games, icons and print-flavored aesthetics.