What’s Pixel Art?

Print anything with Printful



Pixel art is a digital art form that uses pixels to create images. It requires precise placement of each pixel to achieve the desired effect, often using a limited color palette. Techniques such as dithering and isometric design are common. It can be created using simple programs like Microsoft Paint or more advanced software like Adobe® Photoshop®. Pixel art is commonly used in video games and websites due to its small file size and scalability.

A pixel is a computerized point of color. Pixel art is a type of digital art that uses pixels to create work. With pixel art, the artist must position each pixel correctly to create a certain effect. A misplaced dot could make the piece look odd. Done correctly, the artist can create three-dimensional (3-D) backgrounds, characters, and effects with a limited color palette. These techniques have been used in older video games as well as newer mobile games.

In pixel art, the artist places each dot in the right place to create the desired effect. Most of the time, this means the artist will have to work placing one pixel at a time. Therefore, you don’t need expensive graphics software to create this art. A simple program like Microsoft Paint or a more extensive program like Adobe® Photoshop® can both be used to successfully make a pixelated piece.

One technique used in pixel art is dithering, a type of color blending technique. Since most of this type of art is done using a limited color palette, sometimes eight colors or fewer, mixing these colors so they transform well is an important skill. To do this, an artist will start placing dots of one color next to another with varying frequency. When the image is viewed as a whole, the eye will blend these points of color into a new hue. A similar technique can be seen when some inkjet printers print an image.

Pixel art can be divided into two groups: isometric and non-isometric. Generally, isometric means that the object in the art is shown in such a way that it creates a 3D effect. With this type of pixel art, the object or room is depicted in such a way that all corners are equally shortened. This gives the impression that the object is sitting in space rather than being flat. Non-isometric art includes objects seen from any other angle.

Video games and websites can use pixel art in a variety of ways. Since it doesn’t take up as much space as computer graphics rendering, this art scales well for smaller applications. Thus, older versions of video game consoles frequently used this type of art in their games. Some handheld video game systems and mobile games still use this art. Pixel art can also be found on various websites as an avatar and favicon, the little icon that appears in the address bar of some web pages.




Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN


Skip to content