Pixel Loop 2
Draw an animal in your (or any) language literally. e.g.: Octopus in Swedish is Bläckfisk which translates literally to Ink Fish; in Chinese it is Zh?ngyú which can be translated to Stamp/seal fish, etc. envision it as a completely new animal, a monster, an animal with items or in suroundings, whatever weird literal meaning you can get! And please tell us about the animal you drew!
If you are unsure of your ides, consult on our discord.
Canvas Size - max 100x100
Colours - open max 16+1 transparency
Transparency - Required.
Animation - Optional.
Pixel Loop 1
As you all know Tipleloop has entered our mod ranks recently, and she is entering with a bang, giving us a series of challenges designed by herself. Similarly to the Weerdmeester Masterclass series, I will be summing up all the results after the series is over, so consistency is the key to success.
In this challenge you have to design and make a postage stamp set that will represent your country, or any fantasy or real country. The image needs to be representing that country uniqueness (food, culture, plant, place or animal etc). Min of 2 stamps on the series, (country name & price need to be included.) There should be a theme that will tie all the stamps to together.
You have to use the template of the stamp frame with perforations (change the size as you need, but keep the perforation sequence consistent).
You have to use the AFR-32 Palette by Alpha6
Canvas Size - Open (depending on your number of staps, and their sizes).
Colours - Max 32+1 (palette + transparency).
Transparency - Required.
Animation - Optional.
This challenge idea by Trigonomicon was a hit. And it was quite useful for us too, so we decided to give it another go.
Your challenge is to create an icon that can be used for future news posts.
Based on our year long experience we can group icon types into 3 categories:
1) Icons that we need a significant number of, becasue we use them frequently (high chance your icon will be used):
- Top Commenter & Faves
- Monthly top art
- Generic Anouncement
- Group picture collab
- Nonspecified collab
2) Icons that we already have enough of for the rare use they need (low chance your icon will be used), however, it is totally ok to make them for this challenge, especially if you have a cool idea.
- Secret Santa
- Pixelween
- Palette contest
- ISO Collab
3) Icons we will never use, becasue they are automated and we cannot manually chose them:
- Weekly challenge anouncement, voting and awards.
Canvas size: Exactly 50x50.
Colours: Max 32.
Transparency: Encoraged, but optional.
Animation: Optional.
Take a deep dive in your pixel art folders, and excavate all the challenge pieces left there in the darkness. Bring them to life.
Finish any unfinished and yet unsubmitted challenge entry from 2025 or make a new entry for a challenge from 2025 you wanted to participate in, but couldn't.
You can make your choice by going to Weekly Challenges and checking the column on the right. The first challenge of the 2025 was "Happy News Year". Please write in the artwork description which challenge you have chosen, and make sure you follow it's rules and limitations. You can make more than one entries for more than one challenge.
Canvas Size - see the corresponding challenge
Colours - see the corresponding challenge
Transparency - see the corresponding challenge
Animation - see the corresponding challenge
If you enter the specific challenge page and look at the URL you will find a number. This is the number of the challenge and we have just reached 2000. If you also think this is amazing pelase celebrate the 2000th Pixel Joint challenge with us by creating your own!
Design your own challenge and submitt an entry following your own rules. Try to be as clear and precise as possible so everyone could follow the rules you wrote, not only you, and most importantly, the mods can verify if you are actually following your own challenge rules and qualify to be accepted. Include the standard of 4 characteristics at the end.
Canvas Size - It can be precised by "exactly", more flexible using "min", "max" or completely open.
Colors - Use a palette created by yourself or chosen form online sources, limit the colours in any other (understandable) manner or leave the palette restricted only by the general PJ rules.
Transparency - Can be "required", "optional" or "forbidden".
Animation - Can be "required", "optional" or "forbidden".
Every Secret Santa, many artists makes unique and wonderful custom wrappings. This challenge is to make it easier and less boring for people, who can't make their own, because lack of time or other reasons.
Create a Secret Santa gift wrapping template for future use, so all the artists have a library of ready-made wrappings. It needs to be a relatively simple design, that is easy to recolour, edit, and decorate. A simple box with a ribbon is prefferable, but if you have a more creative idea, go for it, however keep in mind that this wrapping needs to be versitile and universal, so it can be used by everyone, for every possible gift, that will be gifted to anyone.
You have to use a christmas 3 main colour scheme of dark green, red and gold as a base of your palette. You can choose your own colours and add couple of shades when needed, but you need at least one red, one green and one golden. You also need to add white outline (any "white" as a lightest colour will do), and you have to use transparency, since it needs to be a sprite.
Canvas Size - Max 100x100.
Colors - Max 12 because December (at least one green, red, gold + "white" outline and transparency).
Transparency - Required.
Animation - Optional (don't make it too difficult to use by future secret santas).
The challenge thread will have all the challenge updates. The thread is also a great place to post your WIPs.
This challenge is designed by actionpose.
Remider that every user is allowed and encouraged to share their challenge ideas on discord.
This week we are making Hero from Kero Blaster into a realistic frog with a backpack. Should be based off the sprite from the game. Using Old90's Palette from Lospec made by Astroan.
Link to the game https://store.steampowered.com/app/292500/Kero_Blaster/
Canvas Size - Max 80x80.
Colors - Max 15 (palette + transparency). 
Transparency - Required.
Animation - Optional.
The challenge thread will have all the challenge updates. The thread is also a great place to post your WIPs.
Last week of the chocolateween is the Chocolate RPG Party
Draw 3 different sprites of RPG game characters, classes, races, etc. They have to be made of chocolare or related to the chocolate theme in other way. Nerd is optional. You are of course not limited to fantasy. If you need inspiration in your search for original classes, use this link. You have to use the CHOCOMILK-8 palette by Blylzz.
You can also browse the PJ RPG Party Challenge history:
Animal RPG Party,
Sushiween III (RPG Sushi)
Canvas Size - Max. 350x350
Colours - max 9 (palette + transparency).
Transparency - Required.
Animation - Optional.
This week we are making a melting chocolate animation. It can be a chocolate bar or a chocolate santa or even a chocolate house.
You have to use the Chocolate Ichor palette by Qirlfriend
The challenge thread will have all the challenge updates. The thread is also a great place to post your WIPs.
(Signup for the secret santa is closing soon! More info here)
The Nerd, after his adventures with Pizzeria and Sushi-ya is trying his luck in the confectionery industry.
Design a pixel art logo for the Nerd Chocolate Factory.
The challenge thread will have all the challenge updates. The thread is also a great place to post your WIPs.
(Signup for the secret santa is now open! More info here)
Traditions, traditions, traditions.
3rd world most favourite food after pizza and sushi is chocolate (source "trust me bro").
This week you have to pixel a box of fancy 16px chocolates. Your box frame may be wide and ornamental or thin and simple, but each individual chocolate have to be separated and no larger than 16x16px (they don't have to be squares but sit on a square base). You cannot have two exactly the same chocolates. Each have to be different. And the minimal number of them is 9.
The challenge thread will have all the challenge updates. The thread is also a great place to post your WIPs.
We have to honour PJ traditions. We were stealing from Mirre 2 years ago, and from Trigonomicon last year. We will steal from Weerdmeester this year, because we can (and because we owe Weerdmeester a half of year of amazing challenges).
Pick any Weerdmeester's animated artwork (it can be an animated preview for an nonanimated piece) and use it as a base for your own challenge entry. It can be a tribute, a continuation, your version of it, a study with a twist, the same but with your style elements, or a similar piece that emulates Weerdmeester's style.
Link your chosen piece. You can also add a description explaining why or how your artwork is inspired or corresponds to what you have chosen.
Pixelween 2025 is over... exept not because it's the Bonus Week!
The theme is Origin.
You will be continuing your horizontal landscape to the left hand side this time.
Where did the guest come from? How did they end up exactly there for their fateful meeting? When did they come from? Why did they... come... from? What in the...?
Do feel free to interpret the theme (origin) and format (landscape panorama) as you wish. Thinking outside of the box is always encouraged! The only real limitations are the palette and canvas size! And remember that it needs to connect on the left side to the first weekly challenge entry you made, or the one that is furthest to the left.
This weekly challenge is not mandatory to participate in to qualify for the competition, but encouraged for those who enjoyed themselves or wish to challenge themselves. You are also able to use a couple of days from this week to polish your previous entries/parts of the panorama, for the competition. It will not be the whole week though, so get your tweaks in soon!
BONUS BONUS CHALLENGE - use the bonus week entry to connect your panorama on both sides and create an endlessly flowing animation (which you can show or link in this artwork's description).
Pixelween 2025 continues with it's fourth week...
The theme is The End.
You will be creating a horizontal landscape on this theme. The following weeks will attach to the previous weeks' entries on the right hand side. So to summarize: a horizontal landscape panorama going from left to right.
They have gone through it all. A meeting, a journey, a loss. All that remains for them to experience is the end. Or is it?
Do feel free to interpret the theme (the end) and format (landscape panorama) as you wish. Thinking outside of the box is always encouraged! The only real limitations are the palette and canvas size! And remember that it needs to connect to the previous week and the next week's challenge entry.
This week's width was decided by a vote on Discord. This week concludes the competition entries. Two out of four parts must have been submitted in time for the Weekly Challenges to qualify your entry for the contest. There will also be a bonus week next week that is not mandatory to participate in, but encouraged for those who enjoyed themselves or wish to challenge themselves.
Pixelween 2025 continues with it's third week...
The theme is The Loss.
You will be creating a horizontal landscape on this theme. The following weeks will attach to the previous weeks' entries on the right hand side. So to summarize: a horizontal landscape panorama going from left to right.
They go through a loss. What is it a loss of? A loss of time? A prized possession? A loved one? A war? Direction? Their mind???
Do feel free to interpret the theme (the loss) and format (landscape panorama) as you wish. Thinking outside of the box is always encouraged! The only real limitations are the palette and canvas size! And remember that it needs to connect to the previous week and the next week's challenge entry.
Pixelween 2025 continues with it's second week...
The theme is The Journey.
You will be creating a horizontal landscape on this theme. The following weeks will attach to the previous weeks' entries on the right hand side. So to summarize: a horizontal landscape panorama going from left to right.
The Guest and the Others go on a journey together. Where will they go? What will they find? What obstacles will they overcome? Will their bond grow stronger or not? What dangers will they face? What scary story will you tell us?
Do feel free to interpret the theme (the journey) and format (landscape panorama) as you wish. Thinking outside of the box is always encouraged! The only real limitations are the palette and canvas size! And remember that it needs to connect to the previous week and the next week's challenge entry.
And so Pixelween 2025 begins...
The first spooky theme is An Unexpected Guest.
You will be creating a horizontal landscape on this theme. The following weeks will attach to the previous weeks' entries on the right hand side. So to summarize: a horizontal landscape panorama going from left to right.
Who will your unexpected guest be? What are they a guest for? Where are they a guest for? So many questions. Will we get answers?
Do feel free to interpret the theme (an unexpected guest) and format (landscape panorama) as you wish. Thinking outside of the box is always encouraged! The only real limitations are the palette and canvas size! And remember that it needs to connect to next week's challenge entry.
The challenge thread will have all the challenge updates. The thread is also a great place to post your WIPs.
Weerdmeester Masterclass Challenge Streak
Final Episode
This week you can finish an entry you've started, or enter a challenge you wanted to participate in, but couldn't. You have 22 challenges to choose from. Here is the list:
Faceblock
Canvasflip
Why do you even bother?
Silloutted
101 Darnthings
POV
Eyes
Clickbaited
You're An Inanimal Object
Malevich Black Square
Backrooms
Crowded Together
Sad Anthropomorphism Cup
And it was called Yellow!
Cuddle the Horror
Onion Skinning
Looking at Distant Thing
What Am I Looking At?
Ponzo Illusion
Imposterd?
Clockwoek Orange
(Tiny, Random) Sideways
You can still change the final results by participating in as many as you wish, but only the ones you did not enter before.
Weerdmeester Masterclass Challenge Streak
Episode 22
Create a scene where the world is flipped on its side, but living (or dead [or undead {...}]) creatures aren't.
This challenge combines Weerdmesteer's innovative ideas, with our traditional tiny worlds challenges (so prepare your 8 pixel tall sprite chops), and with our traditional weird, random, and totally unusable palette challenges (I guess you are lucky this time, becasue this one actually looks pretty easy).
You have to use this palette:
Ghost White #F8F8FF
Bone #E3DAC9
Pumpkin #FF7518
Zombie Green #698362
Blood Red #660000
Vampire Violet #3F2A68
And if you haven't been around PJ long enough, to know what this challenge means, you can ask your senior PJ friends.
Canvas Size - Max 66x66.
Colors - Max 6 (use the palette).
Transparency - Forbidden.
Animation - Forbidden.
Weerdmeester Masterclass Challenge Streak
Episode 21
Everything mechanical is natural, and everything natural is mechanical.
You have to use the Natural Inteligence palette by Mierdinsky.
Canvas Size - Max 333x333.
Colors - Max 9.
Transparency - Forbidden.
Animation - Optional.
The challenge thread will have all the challenge updates. The thread is also a great place to post your WIPs.
Weerdmeester Masterclass Challenge Streak
Episode 20
Create a piece with a group of creatures or objects (at least 2), where another different one tries to fit in the group (without a disguise) by just being very similar looking object/species.
You have to use the Sneaky-12 Palette by RoBEEFnik
Canvas Size - Max 200x400.
Colors - Max 12 (13 if you use transparency).
Transparency - Optional.
Animation - Forbidden.
Weerdmeester Masterclass Challenge Streak
Episode 19
Create a piece with 3 characters (or more), all being the exact same height in pixels, but put in different heights in perspective, thus making them look small and near, normal and large, and far away respectively.
Canvas Size - Open.
Colors - Max 24.
Transparency - Forbidden.
Animation - Forbidden.
Weerdmeester Masterclass Challenge Streak
Episode 18
Create two scenes either in animation or comic form. The first scene or panel having a characters expression and the second with the context explaining the expression of the character.
You have to use the CMYK Douce palette by Snurly.
Canvas Size - Max 250x200.
Colors - Max 4 (use the palette).
Transparency - Forbidden.
Animation - Optional.
Weerdmeester Masterclass Challenge Streak
Episode 17
Create a scene with someone looking at a faraway point of interest... but try to make that point of interest up to be the weirdest, strangest, most-nonsensical thing imaginable.
You have to use the Fantastic Planet palette by Jude Buffum.
Canvas Size - Max 240x135.
Colors - Max 11 (use the palette).
Transparency - Forbidden.
Animation - Forbidden.
Weerdmeester Masterclass Challenge Streak
Episode 16
Depict an animation, but don't actually show a moving animation. Instead, show every single frame at the same time in an image (you are allowed to play with colour illusions of transparency for better readability).
Since this challenge idea, invented by Weerdmeester, is so brilliant and mindblowing to me, I simply cannot, and couldn't add anything to it from myself, without messing things up. So instead I will just add my messy palette:
You have to use the maggot24 palette. Please try to continue the spirit of the previous challenge, and pixel something cute with it.
Or don't.
Canvas Size - Max 222x222.
Colors - Max 24 (use maggot24).
Transparency - Forbidden.
Animation - Forbidden.
Weerdmeester Masterclass Challenge Streak
Episode 15
Depict a terryfying monstrous eldritch looking creature, in a very sweet context.
You have to choose one 8 colour palette from lospec. Link the palette in your artwork description.
Canvas Size - Max 300x200.
Colors - Max 8 (9 if you use transparency).
Transparency - Optional.
Animation - Optional.
The challenge thread will have all the challenge updates. The thread is also a great place to post your WIPs.
Weerdmeester Masterclass Challenge Streak
Episode 14
Create a piece with a color #fee000 encompassing at 25% or more of the piece.
Canvas Size - Open.
Colors - Open (you have to use at least 2 and one of them have to be #fee000).
Transparency - Forbidden.
Animation - Forbidden.
The challenge thread will have all the challenge updates. The thread is also a great place to post your WIPs.
Weerdmeester Masterclass Challenge Streak
Episode 13
1. Depict an object, and try to feel some sort of emotion about that object, without adding any anthropomorphic attributes to it.
2. You can use as many colours as you wish, but you have to assign one different emotion to each colour you use.
Make a list in your artwork description with your chosen colour hex codes and corresponding emotions.
Example:
2ca19f - Politeness
d71de3 - Annoyance
e3b61d - Delight
You can use any emotion classification you like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotion_classification
The emotion or emotions you depict with your object and the emotions you use as your palette blocks are two separate things and can, but do not have to be related in any way.
Canvas Size - Max 200x200.
Colors - Open*.
Transparency - Forbidden.
Animation - Forbidden.
The challenge thread will have all the challenge updates. The thread is also a great place to post your WIPs.
Weerdmeester Masterclass Challenge Streak
Episode 12
Create a standard PJ avatar without any stray pixels. Every single stray counts, also those meant for anti-aliasing/dithering.
However, this is not the end of the challenge. Your avatar picture cannot have a stray head too. You have to include at least two heads on your 64x64 square. We completely don't care if this will be a touching heads selfie with your friend, a rat on your shoulder, you holding a cabbage head, your conjoined twin or you as a two (or more) headed monster. If you can convince us that something has or is a head, it will be ok for this challenge.
You have to use the adl16 palette by adelfaure
Canvas Size - exactly 64x64.
Colors - Max 16.
Transparency - Forbidden.
Animation - Forbidden.
Weerdmeester Masterclass Challenge Streak
Episode 11
Create a liminal space.
Canvas Size - 320x180 or 480x270.
Colors - Max 11.
Transparency - Forbidden.
Animation - Forbidden.
Weerdmeester Masterclass Challenge Streak
Episode 10
Create a scene (or a portrait) where the point of interest, the most interesting thing of the art piece... is a stray pixel.
You have to use the Chrome Dino palette by Donkey Kong from Rejected Palettes.
Canvas Size - Min. 64x64. max 100x100 (have to be a square).
Colors - Max 8.
Transparency - Forbidden.
Animation - Forbidden.
The challenge thread will have all the challenge updates. The thread is also a great place to post your WIPs.
We are pausing the Weerdmeester Streak for one week. However, this challenge is inspired by the last one.
Take a look at this dialectic of opposites:
Alive -> Dead -> Undead
Something is alive and then becomes dead, and when it is brought back to life it does not reverse. It becomes undead. Undead is not dead but it is also not alive. It is something completely different and new.
Now for this challenge we will continue this process and go to one step further to „non-undead”.
Alive -> Dead -> Undead -> Non-undead
Again it is a complete new quality, different than each one before. Not alive, not dead, and not undead also. What exactly is non-undead? I have no idea. You will try to answer that question in this challenge.
Pixel how you understand "non-undead".
The form is completely open. It can be a sprite, a scene, a portrait, whatever you need.
You have to use Resurrect 32 Palette by Kerrie Lake.
Canvas Size - Open.
Colors - Max 32 (33 if you use transparency).
Transparency - Optional.
Animation - Optional.
Weerdmeester Masterclass Challenge Streak
Episode 9
Draw an animal and a non-inanimate object depicting that same animal species.
You have to use the Indecision Palette by Nelson SMG
Canvas Size - max 300x200.
Colors - Max 18.
Transparency - Optional.
Animation - Optional.
The challenge thread will have all the challenge updates. The thread is also a great place to post your WIPs.
Weerdmeester Masterclass Challenge Streak
Episode 8
Make a preview implying the contextt of a work, but have the actual work be about something else entirely.
Canvas Size - min 200x200, max 400x500.
Colors - Max 24.
Transparency - Forbidden.
Animation - Forbidden.
 |  |  |  |
 | Austrailia Day January 26th since 1788 |
 | Chinese New Year January or February |
 | El Dia de Reyes January 6th |
 | Elvis Presley's Birthday January 8th |
 | Kwanzaa December 26th - January 1st |
 | Lohri (India) January 13th |
 | Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Celebrated on the third Monday of January |
 | New Year's Day January 1st |
 | Republic Day (India) January 26th |
 | Shogatsu/Japanese New Year (Japan) January 1st to January 3rd |
 | Tet Nguyen Dan (Vietnamese lunar New Year) First day of January of the lunar year |
| More holidays | |
