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So how does one go from a photo to a pixelated portrait?
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Here's the method I use :

IMPORTANT : Save files in bitmap -- not jpeg! --
This keeps the image crisp. The jpeg format blurs things just a tiny bit.

Step one : Open Microsoft Paint and paste a photo to work on.




Step two : use the select tool (looks like a square) to select the photo
and reduce it to a size so that when you zoom-in on it with the magnifying
glass tool it will be entirely in view. You reduce it by grabbing the corner
of a selected photo and moving the corner to the center of the selected
photo. You might have to reduce it more than once before it's small enough.
It's hard to reduce the photo and keep the proportions so I use the center
blue dots at the edges of the selected area to guide me. I line up the dashed
guide lines on my cursor with those centered blue dots so the proportions
aren't altered.




Step three : Use the magnifying tool to zoom-in on the reduced photo.





Step four : Copy the reduced photo (use the select tool, CTRL+C, then CTRL+V)
and put the copy right next to the original reduced photo. You should have two photos
that are exactly the same in view at this point.




Step five : Using the color select tool (looks like a water dropper) choose
colors for skin, hair, shadows, and outlines. Use the paint brush to make
color "spots" off to the side that you will dab into during the illustration process.


Here's some color swatches I've collected so far.



Step six : Use the erase tool to remove the background from the copied reduced photo.
This takes a little while to do. You may want use the pencil tool with its color set to white
to reach tiny nooks and crannies.




Step seven : Now use the pencil tool, paint brush, and paint bucket tool
to start coloring/"painting" over the reduced photo. This is the part of
the process that takes a long time. Constantly look back at the original
reduced photo to get an idea how you should touch it up or add details.




Step eight : After you're done with all the "painting", "penciling", and "filling-in"
just press the "Print Screen" key on your keyboard. This will create a captured screen
shot of your finished pixelated portrait (while you're zoomed-in on it).






Step nine : In a new Microsoft Paint file, paste the captured screen shot.
If the original reduced photo or any of the color "spots" made it in the
captured screen shot just erase them. And you're done! Ta-dah ! :D :D :D


IMPORTANT : Save files only in bitmap -- not jpeg! --
This keeps the image crisp. The jpeg format blurs things just a tiny bit.

When you first save a file a window pops up and in that window
near the very bottom there's a section with a button under the
section where you type in the name of the file. You click on the
button to choose the format for the file to be saved in. I always
choose 24-bit Bitmap. If you want this window to pop up later
just try to save the file using the "Save As" under the "File"
menu at the top of Microsoft Paint.



The final image should be about four times bigger than the original
pixelated portrait you were directly "painting" on.



Estimated time :
Basic version = about 2 hours for me
Detailed version = about 4-6 hours for me