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Pixel Art News

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Another year - another Group Picture Collab, where we get together to represent ourselves with pixels and collect the golden camera trophy in reward.

This year we are doing something similar to 2024 Animal Atlas, but with Fantasy Creatures instead.

Rules:
1) Choose one fantastic creature to pixel that will represent you in our collab. After your claim is finished and accepted, and you wish to have more fun with the collab, you are allowed to make a second entry to represent someone else, like someone close to you, who you would take on a group picture, but they can't pixel themselves. The list of claims will be stored here.

2) You are allowed to choose any creature from myths, legends and folklore, as long as it does not exist or existed in the real world. This means that modern myths and folklore like grey aliens or cryptids do count. Fantastic beasts invented for media like books, movies, games do not count. You can use a creature depiction from a modern media source if that creature was not invented, but copied and reused from already existing mythology. Grey aliens, elves, dragons, zombies, angels, cerbers, cyclops, ents, gigantic spider monsters do count. Humans, real dogs, documented dinosaurs, do not count, but neither are the xenomorphs, ewoks or klingons. You can go beyond humanoids and animals to plant or fungus monsters, but we prefer not to have just normal trees or flowers even if they are imaginary. Once you claim something it becomes unavailable for others to choose, since we want to have a library of unique creatures. We may allow variants if it will seem reasonable, for example western and eastern dragons, but not to the point of having black dragon, green dragon, golden dragon, red dragon, etc...

3) We are aiming for a similar style used in Animal Atlas - "relaxed realistic". You can check the gallery on Wepixel. It is pretty open to stylisation. Don't forget to use the "white" outline.

4) The canvas size restrictions are the same as in Animal Atlas. We use 32x32px blocks to make our rectangle canvases. The smallest is 32x32px (for creatures like a pixie), and the largest 160x160px (for dragons), while humanoid creatures should use 64x128px (vertical). Generally an elf is taller than a dwarf, who is taller than a hobbit. Try to adjust your canvas size to the creature sizes already in the collab so we get as little problematic scale relations as possible. Always consult your canvas size with mods before starting.

5) You have to use one of the two available palettes (don't mix them):

Eris18 palette by Morganne - for those drawn to saturated colors that evoke a magical atmosphere, this palette enhances the character with richness and fantasy.
https://i.imgur.com/yTSR0Gn.png

CerbeREOs palette by Reo  - if you prefer muted, more natural tones for your character, this palette offers a subtle and grounded look.
https://i.imgur.com/NagUbg1.png
6) You have one month to finish your piece, but you have to provide a WiP within the first week to keep your claim.

7) We will not allow any creatures or gods which depiction in such collab could be found offensive by contemporary cultures or religions, and we give ourselves the right to remove such entry from the collab, if such case will be discovered after we accepted the piece.

8) Rules may be precised or changed slightly in the future to avoid problems we could not predict before launching the collab, but if that happens, it will not affect already accepted entries.

 
 
 
 
 

 
Posted by gawrone @ 12/22/2025 06:06  |    0
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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.



The challenge thread will have all the challenge updates. The thread is also a great place to post your WIPs.
Posted by gawrone @ 1/12/2026 01:53  |    0
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The CHALLENGE 2000 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 CHALLENGE 2000 forum thread for more information.
Read the full post...

Posted by gawrone @ 1/12/2026 01:35  |    0
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Don't forget to comment on the pieces you like!  Not only does a comment have the potential to make the artist's day, if you post a lot you'll win one of the fancy new trophies!

 
 
 
December top commenter awards go to:
 
  1. QueenKami
  2.  SeDiceBisonte
  3.  Tipleloop


And December most favourited award goes to:
Most Faved Artist - October 2020 (#1)hby

Posted by gawrone @ 1/8/2026 11:18  |    0
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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



The challenge thread will have all the challenge updates. The thread is also a great place to post your WIPs.
Posted by gawrone @ 1/5/2026 03:34  |    0
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The SECRET SANTA CUSTOM WRAP 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 SECRET SANTA CUSTOM WRAP forum thread for more information.
Read the full post...

Posted by gawrone @ 1/5/2026 03:17  |    0
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Happy new year, Pixel Joint! After some delays, all 61 gifts from this years secret santa are finally compiled in one place on the Forum. This year, we can boast about zero dropouts and a record number of orb-shaped presents! There's a lot to love in this years entries, so make sure to look thorugh all of them:

Secret Santa 2025 - Gifts!

Posted by Trigonomicon @ 1/1/2026 05:56  |    0
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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".

AnimationCan be "required", "optional" or "forbidden".




The challenge thread will have all the challenge updates. The thread is also a great place to post your WIPs.
Posted by gawrone @ 12/29/2025 02:48  |    0
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The Kero Blaster Realistic 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 Kero Blaster Realistic forum thread for more information.
Read the full post...

Posted by gawrone @ 12/29/2025 02:33  |    1

Quote of the Moment

It seems to me that if you or I must choose between two courses of thought or action, we should remember our dying and try so to live that our death brings no pleasure on the world.

John Steinbeck, Unknown Source

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