Does your mouth water when just thinking about your favorite dish? This week we want you to draw your favourite food with one condition, it must look delicious!
Canvas Size - Max 100x100px
Colours - Unrestricted
Transparency - Optional
Animation - Optional
The challenge thread will have all the challenge updates. The thread is also a great place to post your WIPs.
September is the month a lot of people around the world go back to school.
What's the kind of thing you'd see on the first day of class? A prank played on the teacher? An unusual new student, or teacher? An alien invasion?
Draw a classroom scene for this week's challenge, using the Amstrad CPC 464's palette:
BONUS: make the piece a game mockup.
What is your ideal mode of transportation?
Draw a vehicle of any kind, like bikes, cars, spaceships, or something new you've just invented, using few colors and few pixels.
Medical staff are constantly sharing their most incredible (anonymous) X-ray findings to our shock and amusement. This week we will pixel some. You can use an existing viral image as refference (link optional) or imagine your own. Anything counts, from top Darwin Awards and strange objects insterted into random body openings to aliens growing inside human bodies or humans growing inside alien bodies. The only limitations to your fantasy, besides canvas size and the palette, are that it needs to include some form of a skeleton or bones and there has to be something at least slightly unusual about that X-ray photo. And remember to give NSFW warning if necessary.
X-ray palette
Canvas Size
August 21st is Senior Citizens Day, (and yes I looked it up after I wrote the challenge, but hey) so this week, we want you to draw your self portrait as if it's from 2041 or even later. You can simply draw your old-self or add possible changes such as eye-patch, cybernetic organs or a post apocalyptic style haircut.
Optional Bonus Challenge - Make the preview equal or smaller than 64x64 px and use it as your avatar.
This week we want you to depict a scene featuring one or more reflective objects.
Inspiration:
Hand with Reflecting Sphere, MC Escher
Bonus Challenge: make the whole canvas the reflective object.
Canvas Size - Unrestricted
Colours - 20 max
Transparency - Optional
Animation - Optional
Metroid was released in Japan on the Famicom Disk System on August 6th, 1986.
To celebrate this anniversary, this week's challenge is to draw a space bounty hunter, may it be an existing character inside/outside of the Metroid universe, or a completely original character.
Canvas Size - Exactly 100x100
This week it's your task to animate an object or character that transforms or evolves into another. These can be your favorite pokemon, transformers, or werewolves, but you're also welcome to keep the subjects simple and instead go crazy on those transition effects!
Animating can be a lot of work, so to keep it simple the canvas is small.
Yes, it is an another RPG party challenge but with a twist (pun intended). This time we want you to choose an existing musical group and draw sprites of it's members.
It doesn't matter if it is a rock band, jazz group, hip-hop squad or a string quartet. You can make them into standard RPG classes (ex.: James Hetfield - Barbarian, Kirk Hammet - Wizard, Lars Urlich - Thief) or into different races (ex.: Paul McCartney - Wood Elf, John Lennon - High Elf, George Harrison - Dark Elf, Ringo Star - Dwarf), or completely made-up classes (ex.: Scary, Sporty, Baby, Ginger, Posh).
If you don't want to draw all of the members, because you want to portray only those important ones and skip the bass player, or you have chosen Slipknot, please consider a minimum number of three sprites. No single performers allowed.
The challenge thread will have all the challenge updates. The thread is also a great place to post your WIPs.
This week, challenge winner sjd_sjd_ asks you to pixel a simile (no, not a smiley) as if it's literal. A simile is a metaphor or a way of figurative speaking, such as "Face like a dropped pie", "Grinning like a shot fox" or "Off like a frog in a sock". You can pixel any simile from any language including your own but make sure to write down what it is and what it means in your description. You can draw it as a scene or as a sprite.
Canvas size: Max. 120x120
Colours: Max 16.
Transparency: Optional.
Animation: Optional.
This week we want you to depict your favourite villain of all time (of any media) as if it was a sprite from a game. If you take inspiration from an actual game, let us know in the description!
Canvas size: 100x100px max
Colours: 16 max (Transparency included)
Transparency: Required
Animation: Optional
Canvas size: Exactly 150x150.
Colours: Exactly 4 (from one of the 3 CGA palettes)
Transparency: No.
Animation: Optional
The challenge thread will have all the challenge updates. The thread is also a great place to post your WIPs.
Create a game mockup based on an existing movie. You could try to depict a specific scene, or just catch the general vibe from the location and the characters. Please mention the movie that you chose in your description.
Bonus challenge: Pick all your colors from a single camera still of the movie you selected.
This idea was originally submitted by cjlm123
Canvas size: Max width: 264px, max height: 120px. (This is standard 70mm aspect ratio. But feel free to go smaller.)
Colours: Max 48.
Transparency: No.
Animation: No.
Tamagotchi was introduced a quarter of a century ago. Not every "vintage" toy with LCD screen included pixel art, but this one did. This week we are going to honour that viral toy of the late 90's.
Using the provided template, pick a character, enemy, etc... from an existing, modern video game and make it fitting the 32x32 screen only. On the screen, only use the 3 LCD colors from the provided palette.
Some form of animation is required. Design the enclosure paint, buttons and logo using any other colours you like. You may not alter the shape of the toy.
Example of a finished product:
Canvas size: Exactly 64x64, use the template
Colours: Max 16 (including the 3 LCD colors and transparency)
Transparency: Required
Animation: Required
The Oldschool Self-Portrait pixel art challenge is complete and we have three new champions. This week's challenge awards go to the following pieces:
Thanks so much to all who took the time to vote and participate in the challenge! Check out the Oldschool Self-Portrait forum thread for more information.
This week, in order to celebrate the pride month, we ask you to make a new avatar for yourself in the shape of a heart; this heart below in particular. It can be about anything you like.
Canvas size: Max 64x64 px.
Colours: Max 8.
Transparency: Required. Outside the heart must be left transparent.
Animation: Optional
This week we want you to depict yourself using one of the following palettes:
EGA default (Enhanced Graphics Adapter)
Commodore 64
MSX
Apple II
Canvas size: Max 150x150.
Colours: Use only colours from the chosen palette.
Transparency: No.
Animation: Optional
Depict a fantastic creature out of its natural habitat, like a cockatrice under water, or a kraken in a forest, for example.
Canvas size: Exactly 100x100
Colours: Exactly 16
Transparency: No
Animation: Optional
The challenge thread will have all the challenge updates. The thread is also a great place to post your WIPs.
After the success with Tiny Towers, we now present Petite Panorama.
Draw a nice outdoor view on narrow horizontal canvas. Here are some suggestions for subjects, but also feel free to come up with your own: a bridge, a mountain ridge, a main street block, a park or a coastline.
Canvas Size - Width: Minimum 64px, wider is allowed too. Height: Exactly 16px
Colors - Max 16
Transparency - Optional
Animation - Optional
All we know about dinosaurs are how their skeletons look like and what they evolved into: colorful birds. With this in mind, artists are trying to reimagine what dinosaurs actually looked like. Now it's your turn.
Take any species of dinosaurs and draw its sprite, imagining what it actually looked like. Was it colorful? Did it have a beak? Feathers or a fluffy fur maybe? For the sprite, you need to use Gyhoket's 15 color palette that won 3rd place in PrehISOria palette competition. The sprite can be from any perspective.
Canvas Size - Max 160x160.
Colours - Max 16 including transparency. Only use colors from this palette:
Transparency - Required.
Animation - Optional.
Depict a scene or sprite of someone walking a not so common animal. (Can be an existing animal or a fictional one. Terrestrial or Extraterrestrial).
Canvas Size - Max 200 x 200.
Colours - Max 15.
Transparency - No.
Animation - Optional.
What is your favorite work of art? You are challenged to recreate a famous painting or sculpture in pixel art, but with a very small palette. Could you do the work justice with only 4 colors?
Please link to a picture of the original in the description!
Canvas Size - Max 200x200
Colours - 4 (or 5 if using transparency) .
Transparency - Optional, if you're drawing a statue for example.
Animation - No.
Player 2 characters are often a wackier sibbling of the main hero. I'm talking about characters like Luigi, Knuckles, Diddy kong.
My own favorite character is Spaz, it was so obvious to me that he was much more fun than Jazz Jackrabbit and as I was the older sibling at home I always could make sure that I got to pick him first.
This week 's challenge is to draw a player 2 character. But if your favorite game doesn't have one, you're welcome to design a player 2 character that would be suitable for that game! Please do let us know which game it is based on, of course.
Canvas Size - Max 64x64.
Colours - Max 16 .
Transparency - Optional.
Animation - Optional.
The challenge thread will have all the challenge updates. The thread is also a great place to post your WIPs.
Following the Ace of Base challenge from 7 years ago, this time we want you to draw the base sprite of a building this time and then draw at least 3 variations (dressed up versions) of it. The building can be drawn in topdown, isometric, side view or any parallel projection. In between the variations must be transparent.
Canvas Size - Unrestricted.
Colours - Max 21 including transparency.
Transparency - Required.
Animation - No.
This week we want you to homage your favourite meme with a pixelart. Maybe you want to honor Harambe with a beautifully crafted portrait. Maybe you just want to Rick your Roll in the best pixel fashion. Be our guest and have fun!
Bonus Challenge: Avoid even thinking of Ugandan Knuckles. Thanks.
Canvas Size - Max 100 x 100.
Colours - Max 30
Transparency - Optional.
Animation - Optional.
It's time again for this PJ yearly tradition, the April fools challenge!
You're challenged to make a piece in the style of another pixel artist. Who inspires you, and can you fool your audience into thinking the work belongs to them? Please link to the artist you're imitating in the description of your piece.
Also, click here to see last years edition as an example.
Canvas Size - Unrestricted.
Colours - As many as you need.
Transparency - Optional.
Animation - Optional.
The challenge thread will have all the challenge updates. The thread is also a great place to post your WIPs.
Welcome to Nerdtendo
Design brief:
The handheld console must have:
- a d-pad
- a screen
- 4 buttons
You must choose one of the runner-up palettes of the 14-colour palette competition to draw your piece:
- Janinhus
- Mirre
- Jinn
- Drea
BONUS: A mockup onscreen, animated or static, is a welcome detail.
Canvas Size -100x100 px
Colours - max 15
Transparency - Optional
Animation - Optional
The challenge thread will have all the challenge updates. The thread is also a great place to post your WIPs.
This week, we want you to draw something within a glass object, such as a ship or house in an 'impossible bottle', a snow globe or something displayed in a bell glass.
Canvas Size - Max 120x120 px
Colours - Max. 16
Transparency -Optional.
Animation - Optional.
This week we want you to create two (or more sprites) that fit perfectly one into another, filling all the voids in contact. Please depict the sprites both by themselves and connected (can be in the preview or description if you want).
Example:
Canvas Size - Max 64x64px per sprite.
Colours - Max. 20
Transparency -Needed.
Animation - No.
Create an animation of something rotating around its own axis! Any axis is allowed, as long as your animation has at least 2 unique positions that can't be made by flipping or rotating the canvas.
Example:
Bonus challenge: Use an odd number of frames.
Canvas Size - Max 64x64.
Colours - Max. 20:
Transparency - Optional.
Animation - Yes, required.
For The Legend of Zelda's 35th anniversary, we want you to redesign Link's classic NES sprite:
https://www.spriters-resource.com/fullview/8366/
This challenge is based on the same premise as "The New Bomber" challenge we had back in 2014, which you can check out if you want some inspiration:
https://pixeljoint.com/pixels/poll.asp?id=1395
The sprite must be original work - no sprite edits will be accepted. Feel free to change style and game genre, too!
Canvas size: Max 48x 48.
Colours: Max 8.
Transparency: Required, don't forget it counts as a colour!
Animation: Optional.
The challenge thread will have all the challenge updates. The thread is also a great place to post your WIPs.
The Precious pixel pixel art challenge is complete and we have three new champions. This week's challenge awards go to the following pieces:
Thanks so much to all who took the time to vote and participate in the challenge! Check out the Precious pixel forum thread for more information.
This week, we want you to imagine & pixel the Commodore 64 demake of an existing game that wasn't actually released for Commodore 64. You can add/remove/change any features of the game as you want. You do not need to stick with one of the C64 graphic modes, however:
Optional bonus challenge: Meet the criteria of one of the graphic modes of C64.
Canvas Size - Exactly 320x200 px, horizontal.
Colours - Max. 16 use the C64 palette:
Transparency - No.
Animation - Optional.
This weeks theme is sprite sprites!
You will be creating 2 sprites of a sprite, pixie, fay or fairy. The two sprites need to be the same character, drawn in two different sizes. One needs to fit on a 64x64 canvas, the other on a 16x16 canvas.
Both sprites will be submitted on one larger canvas, max 100x100. You don't need that much room, but this way you keep some space between the sprites if that helps to present them better.
For an example have a look at this image from Damian, obviously these are 3 sprites (and not pixies) but you only need 2.
Bonus challenge: Also add a 32x32 version of your sprite! (so 3 in total)
Good luck with your pixie pixels!
Canvas size - Max 100x100.
Colours - Max 20. Use the same palette for both sprites.
Animation - No.
Transparency - Yes, required.
The challenge thread will have all the challenge updates. The thread is also a great place to post your WIPs.
The challenge thread will have all the challenge updates. The thread is also a great place to post your WIPs.
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 | Ganesh Chaturthi (India) August - September |
 | Labor Day (USA) First Monday in September |
 | Mexican Independence Day September 16th |
 | Rosh Hashanah September or October |
| | Yom Kippur Tenth day of the Hebrew month of Tishri (September or October) |
| More holidays | |