In computer graphics, pixelation is an effect caused by displaying a digital image at such a large size that individual pixels, small single-colored square display elements that comprise the bitmap, are visible to the eye. Such an image is said to be pixelated. Early graphical applications such as video games ran at very low resolutions with a small number of colors, and so had easily visible pixels. The resulting sharp edges gave curved objects and diagonal lines an unnatural appearance.
However, when the number of available colors increased to 256, it was possible to gainfully employ antialiasing to smooth the appearance of low-resolution objects, not eliminating pixelation but making it less jarring to the eye. Higher resolutions would soon make this type of pixelation all but invisible on the screen, but pixelation is still visible if a low-resolution image is printed on paper.
The Daily Omnivore 
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