~ ARTKAL S-5MM · 199 COLORS ~
Free Artkal Bead Pattern Maker
Convert photos or artwork into Artkal S-5mm Midi bead patterns — the brand with the widest color range in fuse beads. MakeBead matches every pixel to one of 199 real Artkal colors, gives you a full materials list with S-codes, and exports a print-ready multi-board PDF. Everything runs in your browser, free forever.
Drop image or click to upload
JPEG, PNG, or WebP
29 × 29 beads · 1×1 board
Templates
Click a template to load it into the tool above
How to Make an Artkal Bead Pattern
Upload Your Image
Drag & drop or click to upload a JPEG, PNG, or WebP. PNG transparency becomes empty cells.
Artkal Is Preselected
The Bead Brand selector defaults to Artkal · 199 colors on this page. Switch to Perler / Hama / Nabbi anytime for comparison.
Dial In the Conversion
Pick a grid size (29 / 58 / 87). For photos, enable Dithering and raise Max Colors to 80–150. Use Image Adjust for brightness/contrast or remove background.
Clean Up (Optional)
Click Edit Pattern to flood-fill confetti cells, replace a shade globally, or paint by hand. Full undo/redo.
Export or Start Crafting
Export PDF with per-board page numbers and materials list, or click Start Crafting to place beads with the built-in progress tracker.
Features
Full 199-Color Artkal Palette
The largest palette in fuse beads — 199 Artkal S-5mm (Midi) colors with official S-codes. Great for photo realism, skin tones, and subtle gradients where smaller palettes lose detail.
Interchangeable with Perler / Hama
Artkal S-5mm uses the same 5mm Midi spacing as Perler and Hama, so standard pegboards fit. Switch to Perler, Hama, or Nabbi with one click to compare how your design looks in each brand.
Dithering for Photo Realism
Floyd–Steinberg error diffusion turns a 199-color palette into something that approximates continuous tone — essential for faces, skies, and other gradients.
Background Removal + Image Adjust
One-click eyedropper makes background colors transparent. Brightness, contrast, and saturation sliders let you fine-tune input photos before conversion without Photoshop.
Built-In Editor for Cleanup
Paint, erase, flood-fill, or replace a color globally with the in-tool editor. Perfect for cleaning stray "confetti" pixels that large palettes sometimes produce from photos.
Progress Tracker for Large Builds
87×87 mosaics easily run 5,000+ beads. Tap Start Crafting to enter tracker mode — drag-to-paint, Shift+drag box-select, auto-save to your browser. Your multi-week project stays in sync.
What Are Artkal Beads?
Artkal beads are iron-on fuse beads made in China. The S-5mm (Midi) series is Artkal's equivalent of Perler Midi and Hama Midi — same 5mm diameter, same square pegboards, same iron-and-parchment-paper technique. The key differentiator is the palette: Artkal S offers 199 official colors, nearly double Perler's 103 and more than double Hama's 92.
That wide palette makes Artkal the go-to brand for photo-realistic bead portraits, detailed anime art, and large gradient mosaics. Artkal also makes smaller bead series — C (hard mini, 2.6mm), A (soft mini, 2.6mm), R (3mm), and T (big, 8mm) — but the S-5mm Midi remains the standard and is what this page's palette covers.
An Artkal bead pattern maker converts an image into a pixel grid where each cell maps to a real Artkal S-code. MakeBead does this in your browser — no uploads, no sign-up — and gives you every tool you need to make a photo conversion usable: dithering, background removal, color-limit slider, built-in editor for confetti cleanup, and a progress tracker for the long build phase.
Other Brands Supported
Same tool, different palette. Switch with one click, or start on a brand-specific page:
Artkal Bead Pattern Maker FAQ
Which Artkal palette does this tool use? ▾
The S-5mm Midi series with 199 official colors — the same size and spacing as Perler Midi and Hama Midi, so standard square pegboards (29×29) fit perfectly. Each color carries its official S-code (S01 White, S02 Burning Sand, etc.).
How is Artkal different from Perler or Hama? ▾
All three are 5mm iron-on fuse beads that share the same pegboards and technique. The main differences: (1) Artkal has the biggest palette — 199 colors in S-5mm Midi vs. Perler 103 and Hama 92 — so it handles photos and gradients better. (2) Artkal is generally more affordable per bag. (3) Availability varies by region: Perler dominates North America, Hama dominates Europe, Artkal is popular in Asia and online worldwide.
Can I use more than 50 colors in a single pattern? ▾
Yes. The Max Colors slider defaults to 5–50 for an easier build, but the number input next to it lets you type any count up to 199. Photo conversions often benefit from 80–150 colors when using a large Artkal palette.
Why does my pattern have many scattered single-color pixels? ▾
A 199-color palette is very accurate, which means low-contrast photos get matched to many similar shades that end up as single stray pixels ("confetti"). Fixes: (1) lower Max Colors, (2) enable Floyd–Steinberg dithering for smoother transitions, (3) raise Contrast in the Image Adjust panel, or (4) open Edit Pattern and use flood-fill / replace-all to clean up.
Does MakeBead support other Artkal series (A, C, R, T)? ▾
Current data covers S-5mm (Midi) — the most common. Artkal also makes C (hard mini, 2.6mm), A (soft mini, 2.6mm), R (3mm), and T (big, 8mm) series. We may add per-series palettes in future updates based on user demand.
Can I export a printable pattern with board numbering? ▾
Yes. PDF export includes a cover overview page with board layout map, giant page numbers on each board page, prev/next indicators, grid cells with color codes, bold lines every 5 cells, and a complete materials list with Artkal S-codes and bead counts per color.
Is the Progress Tracker suitable for big Artkal mosaics? ▾
Yes — it's designed for exactly that. Tap Start Crafting, then click to toggle single beads, drag to paint a stroke, or Shift+drag to box-select a whole region. Dashed red lines show where one pegboard ends and the next begins. Your progress saves to localStorage, so a 30-board wall piece won't lose state if you close the tab.
Where does the Artkal color data come from? ▾
RGB values are sampled from physical Artkal S-5mm beads by the open-source beadcolors project (MIT license), originally contributed by Perlervault. Colors are approximate — actual beads may vary slightly due to dye batch and lighting.