How to make pixel art

Draw and enlarge a pixel cactus in seven steps

1. 1

   Open a 16 × 16 canvas and add a drawing layer

   Open the blank sample from this page. To start your own canvas instead, choose File› then New…, set Width and Height to 16, and keep Units on Pixels. Background stays on White. Click Create.

   Choose Layer› then New› then New Layer. In Layers, double-click its name, type Cactus and press Enter. Leave Cactus selected above Background.

   

   

   

2. 2

   Choose a green, then Pencil at 1 px

   Choose Window› then Color. In its # field, on the row marked Foreground, replace the value with 4A8654.

   Right-click the toolbar button below Eyedropper, or press and hold it, then choose Pencil. Set Size to 1 px. Mode, how a stroke mixes with existing pixels, stays on Normal. Opacity controls how solid the mark is; keep it at 100%.

   Smooth steadies a stroke; keep it at 0 for placing these cells. Leave both pressure boxes off for uniform size and opacity. Keep Auto erase off so painting over a pixel keeps using the foreground color.

   

   

   

   

   

3. 3

   Show a one-pixel grid

   Choose More› then Preferences…, then Guides & Grid. Grid spacing (document px) sets the distance between major lines; set it to 2. Subdivisions per major cell divides that distance; set it to 2. Click Close.

   Choose View› then Show› then Grid, then View› then Fit on Screen. The faint lines now divide individual pixels, with heavier lines every two pixels. The top-left white cell is column 1, row 1. Count columns from the left and rows from the top.

   

   

   

   

   

4. 4

   Draw the trunk and arms

   Keep Cactus selected and the foreground green. Drag through the centers of the cells. Make a separate stroke for each line below:

   • Trunk: three vertical strokes in columns 8, 9 and 10, each from row 3 through row 10.
   • Left arm: horizontal strokes across columns 5–7 in rows 6 and 7. Add its upright tip in column 5, rows 4–5.
   • Right arm: horizontal strokes across columns 11–13 in rows 7 and 8. Add its upright tip in column 13, rows 5–6.

   

5. 5

   Add the pot and lighter pixels

   In the Color panel’s # field, enter B66B4B for the pot. Paint row 11 across columns 6–12, rows 12 and 13 across columns 7–11, then row 14 across columns 8–10.

   Change the # value to A0C78D. Add a light strip in column 8, rows 4–9. Add two lighter cells in column 5, rows 5–6, and one in column 11, row 7. Use the whole grid in step 3 to count their positions.

   Hide Cactus with its eye button to compare with the blank Background, then show it again.

   

   

6. 6

   Save the small master, then enlarge

   Choose File› then Save As› then Lil Cactus Project… while the canvas is still 16 × 16. This keeps the two editable layers at the drawing’s original size.

   Choose Image› then Image Size… Keep Units on Pixels, the chain button linked and Resample on. Resample changes the number of pixels. Set Width to 512; Height follows to 512. Choose Nearest Neighbor in the resampling menu and click Resize.

   This is a 32× enlargement: each original pixel becomes a 32 × 32 block.

   

7. 7

   Export the PNG, then return to drawing size

   Choose File› then Export› then PNG…, then click Export. The new file is 512 × 512 px. Choose Edit› then Undo to return to the 16 × 16 drawing for your next edit.

   File› then Save now updates the project.

Why Nearest Neighbor keeps the palette

Image Size opens with Bilinear selected. At this enlargement it mixes colors along the edges. Nearest Neighbor preserves the drawing’s three paint colors and white background.

What to make next

• Keep a reusable palette: save color swatches.
• Build a larger graphic around the sprite: work with layers.
• Change the image size for another use: resize an image.

Pixel art: questions and answers