Square by Square: Creating Pixel Art

Have you ever looked at an old video game up close and seen that the pictures are made of tiny squares? Those little squares are the secret behind a whole style of art. Look at the image below — from far away it looks like a face, but zoom in and it is just a grid of coloured squares! Today you are going to find out exactly how that works.

A pixel is the smallest single square of colour on a screen or a grid. When you put many pixels together, they form a picture. This style of art is called pixel art. Pixel art started in the 1970s and 1980s when the first video games were made. Early computers could only display a small number of squares at one time, so game designers had to be very clever. They used just a few coloured squares to show characters, backgrounds, and objects. Those blocky images became iconic — meaning people remember and love them even now. Today, artists still choose pixel art on purpose because they love its bold, clear style. How do you make pixel art? 1. Start with a grid. A grid is a pattern of rows and columns that makes equal squares. Pixel artists use this like a plan. 2. Decide on your subject — what will your picture show? Keep it simple: a heart, a star, a fish, or a face all work well. 3. Choose your colours. Pixel art usually uses a limited palette — a small set of chosen colours — so the image stays clear and bold. 4. Fill in squares one at a time. Each square is either coloured or left blank. That is your whole tool kit! The secret skill in pixel art is planning. Because you cannot blend colours smoothly, every single square matters. Artists think carefully about the outline first, then fill in the middle.