Thank you for using Pixel Lens!
Pixel Lens v1.3 will be released on September 25, 2026 at 22:00 JST. This update brings a new AI model that makes outlines crisper. It also adds the "Thin Lines" option for truer one-dot outlines and four ready-to-use official presets, and it fixes afterimages that could appear while using a palette. If you already own Pixel Lens, the update is free.
New in v1.3
Updated AI model: crisper, cleaner outlines
Thin Lines option: one-dot outlines that look hand-placed
Bug fix: afterimages during fast motion when using a palette
Four official presets included: pick one and you are ready to go
1. Updated AI model: crisper outlines
The AI model that creates the pixel art has been updated. It was retrained on targets whose line widths were matched to the dot grid, so outlines now come out sharper and cleaner.
Lines blur less, and character silhouettes look tighter
Colors in dark scenes are reproduced as well as before
Performance is unchanged from v1.2
2. Thin Lines: truer one-dot outlines
Where a diagonal line steps down one row at a time, two dots could end up side by side, making the line look thick.
Tick "Thin Lines", to the right of FPS in the control panel, and that extra dot is removed, leaving the outline one dot wide. Lines come out clean, as if a pixel artist had placed every dot by hand.
It is on by default
Because the shape of each line is judged frame by frame, a few dots along a line may flicker slightly in video. Think of it as the character of a hand-finished touch
It costs a little extra processing (about 1.7 ms per frame at Full HD)
If you prefer the raw output, just untick it
The setting is stored in presets as well
3. Bug fix: afterimages when using a palette
In v1.2, colors from the previous frame could linger during fast motion while a palette was in use, which looked like an afterimage.
The cause was a feature that kept dither patterns on flat areas from flickering in video. It was also holding colors on parts of the picture that were moving. In v1.3 that feature has been removed, and the afterimages are gone.
Dither patterns on flat areas may now flicker very slightly
Colors follow the motion on screen immediately, so fast-moving footage looks clean
4. Four official presets included
The preset feature added in v1.2 now comes with four official presets, ready to use. Just pick one from "Preset" at the top right of the control panel.
Official Ink: drawn with the new 5-color palette "ink" alone, for a monochrome, printed-in-ink look
Official Luminosity: takes only the brightness of the 64-color palette "resurrect-64", keeping the original colors while giving pixel-art shading
Official Normal: the Windows 95 256-color palette laid on lightly, for a natural look close to the original picture
Official SoftLight: the 32-color palette "endesga-32" blended with Soft Light, for strong contrast and vivid colors
Use them as they are, or tweak one you like and save it as your own preset.
Official presets cannot be deleted from the app
If you save a preset under the same name, your own version takes precedence
The official preset files live in the presets folder next to Pixel Lens itself (PixelLens.exe)
With "ink" added, 39 palettes are now included
Other improvements
Localized status bar: the messages at the bottom of the window were English only until now; they are available in all 15 languages
Fixed the delete button being clickable while an official preset was selected
For pixellens-cli users
Thin Lines is on by default in the CLI as well. Turn it off with --no-corner-thinning
The --dither-stability option has been removed. If you pass it, it is ignored and a warning is shown (scripts written for v1.2 keep working)
Official presets can be selected by name, for example --preset "Official Ink"
How to update
The update will be delivered automatically through Steam. Your current settings and saved presets carry over as they are.
We'd love to hear what you think of the new model and of Thin Lines, and please feel free to report any bugs. We'd also be happy to see the settings and artwork you make from the official presets.
Discord: https://discord.gg/wJJZABEbVs
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Thank you for your continued support of Pixel Lens!