Back in 2008, PJ member 7even suggested a legendary challenge idea:
To pixel a medival knight, using one of these 7 prompts and the 7 colors that belong to it.
7evens obsession with knights led him to create the succesful game Rogue Legacy, but with 90 entries to the weekly it was clear that more pixel artists are fascinated by these characters!
Which is why we're rerunning the challenge! So to recap:
Pick a number from 1 to 7, and create a 100x100 image of a knight using the 7 colors of the palette (no black & white, no mixing from other palettes). As always, mutliple entries are allowed.
Canvas Size - 100x100 exactly.
Colors - 7 colors, from one of the 7 palettes.
Animation - No.
Transparency - No.
This year we met a visitor who comes to us every 6766 years. We will hardly be able to enjoy its short-lived brilliance again. In its honor, capture the scene of the celestial passer however you want; the condition is that the comet is the dominant part of the scene.
The palette for this challenge is SLSO8: 
Canvas Size - 120x100 max, either horizontal or vertical.
Colors - max. 8 colors, only use colors from the SLSO8 palette
Animation - Optional.
Transparency - No.
If you were to build your (childhood) dream house, what would it look like? We are taking a nostalgic trip back to the Isocity days, and challenge you to create the isometric building of your dreams!
Here is a tutorial about how isometric projection works, in case you need a reminder.
Canvas Size - Max. 200x200
Colours - Max. 20 colors.
Transparency - Optional.
Animation - Optional.
Extra requirement - Must be in isometric projection!
You've drawn monsters with pixels but what if pixels were actually monsters themselves? What would they look like? This week, we want you to design & draw a monster that is somehow inspired by a pixel! You can draw it as a sprite or within a scene or mockup.
Canvas Size - Max. 100 x 100
Colours - Max. 16 colors.
Transparency - Optional.
Animation - No.
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 a scene with one character in an unusual size in comparison to the environment (unusually large or small); as if either the character or the surroundings imply the existence of giants.
Canvas Size - Max. 200x140 (vertical or horizontal)
Colours - Max. 14 colors.
Transparency - No.
Animation - No.
This week, we want you to draw a well known game character. But with a twist - a gender twist to be specific. So, pick your favorite video game character and draw it in the opposite gender, as a sprite, in a scene or in a mockup.
Canvas Size - Max. 160*90 (vertical or horizontal)
Colours - Max. 18 colors.
Transparency - Optional.
Animation - Optional.
Hail to all the people who devote their lives to make us laugh; even though they often fail to do so. This week, we want you to draw a scene or sprite that involves a clown, joker or harlequin.
Canvas Size - Max. 133*133
Colours - Max. 13 colors.
Transparency - Optional.
Animation - No.
This week marks the 20th anniversary of another great album, White Pony by Deftones. Aside from the songs, the album was also famous for its pony silhouette not being a pony, but a horse.
This week, we want you to draw a horse (of any color), either within a scene or as a separate sprite.
Canvas Size - Max. 160*120
Colours - Max. 10 colors.
Transparency - Optional.
Animation - Optional.
Welcome to another "pixel what you see" challenge. The wonderful picture below shows a piece from Irena's nephew Jona.
Interpret his artwork and pixel what you see. You are free to rotate or flip the image as you please.
Inspiration links Pare's Dream - Galt's World - Natalie's Drawing - Pearl's Story - Drawer Geeks!
Canvas Size - Exactly 240 x 175 (either horizontal or vertical).
Colors - Max 32.
Transparency - No.
Animation - No.
The challenge thread will have all the challenge updates. The thread is also a great place to post your WIPs.
Colonization on Mars is becoming a reality each day. This week, we want you to draw an isometric structure, vehicle or robot that we might use on our first colony on Mars. You are free to add a background and / or people to your image.
Canvas Size - Max. 120*120
Colours - Max. 14 colors.
Transparency - Optional.
Animation - No.
Calenders show the 20th anniversary of the first studio album by A Perfect Circle, Mer de Noms (Sea of Names). This week, we want you to draw a piece that depicts a scenery of sea, lake or ocean within a circular canvas. The exterior of the circle must be left transparent.
Canvas Size - Max. 200*200
Colours - Max. 16 colors.
Transparency - Required.
Animation - Optional.
Teeth and brains rot from them, but no one can resist their sweet taste. Hard, rubber, of all possible shapes and colors. Pixelize your favorite or most beautiful candy as a standalone sprite or the dominant part of the scene.
Canvas Size - Max. 128*128
Colours - Max. 12 colors.
Transparency - Optional.
Animation - No.
This week is all about showing one object or living being from a fixed perspective; the side view. You can pixel whatever you like, however, make sure that there is an opaque backround with one single colour only. With the perspective being fixed you can go right in and add all that juicy detail.
You don't have to show both sides!
Bonus Challenge:
Show your object from the back and front
Canvas Size - Max. 250x250 px
Colours - Max. 32 colors.
Transparency - No.
Animation - Yes.
The challenge thread will have all the challenge updates. The thread is also a great place to post your WIPs.
Last week was about what we used the most. And this week the challenge will be about what we use the least: Shoes! Draw a shoe - or a pair of them, either as a sprite or as the focal point of a scene. You can go crazy with what kind of shoes you want to draw.
Canvas Size - Max. 110x110 px
Colours - Max. 14 colors.
Transparency - Optional.
Animation - No.
Masks. They are all around us now. So this week, we want you to draw a mask of any type. It can be a medical mask, a traditional mask or that of a criminal. You can draw it as an object sprite or you can include it in a scene.
Canvas Size - Max. 150x100 px (vertical or horizontal).
Colours - Max. 13 colors.
Transparency - Optional.
Animation - No.
In these troubled times, we are grateful to the selfless medical staff that are trying to help the sick all around the world. In their honor, this week, we want you to draw the sprite of a physician, nurse, midwife, field medic, plague doctor, shaman or any sort of medical personnel you may think of.
Canvas Size - Max. 128x128 px
Colours - Max. 16 colors.
Transparency - Required.
Animation - Optional.
In much of the world, April is notorious for its wet weather.
This week, depict a scene featuring "April showers" - meaning rain!
(This scene may be indoors or outdoors so long as rainclouds or raindrops clearly visible.)
Canvas Size - Max. 192 x 128 (horizontal).
Colours - Max. 24 colors.
Transparency - No.
Animation - Optional.
The Doom Guy 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 Doom Guy forum thread for more information.
Sup pixel-heads? We hope all of you are OK and you don't let the lockdowns get in the way of your creativity! Cause it's once again time for our ever popular yearly April Fools Gallery challenge!
For those who do not know the rules yet, the idea is to study the PJ gallery of another pixel artist. Look at the techniques they use, the colours they pick, the subject matters they gravitate towards, etc... Then once you feel like you have a grasp of that person's style, create an image that will fool us into thinking that it's theirs.
Don't forget to mention the name of your chosen pixel artist in your description!
Previous April Fools Gallery challenges can be found here: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
(!) Extended for 1 week
Canvas Size - Unrestricted.
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.
Remember the Doom Guy, that makes facial expressions and shows the damage level on him from a tiny window at the bottom of the screen? This week, we want you to create an animated portrait with 5 or more different emotions and/or damage levels.
Canvas Size - Max 80x80
Colours - Max 16
Transparency - Optional.
Animation - Required. At least 5 frames.
"Belinsky was just like Krylov's Inquisitive Man, who didn't notice the elephant in the museum...."
- Fyodor Dostoevsky, Demons
Often Pixel Art focuses on teeny tiny sprites, but today we want you to think bigger. A lot bigger. Picture a full-sized elephant hiding, successfully or otherwise, in an interior setting!
You may choose to represent a scene, or as a collection of objects.
Canvas Size - Max 192 x 128, horizontal or vertical.
Colours - Max 28.
Transparency - Optional.
Animation - No.
In the past, we have ran this and this challenges but what about the monsters? This week, we want you to draw an RPG party that consists of exactly 4 sprites, depicting 4 different classical RPG monster species. These species should be chosen between these, albeit with whatever twists you might dream of:
You must separate sprites from eachother in your canvas using transparency, yet slight overlays for the sake of composition is permitted. Please clearly mention in your description which characters are in your party. And remember: you can make a ww2 band, a sci-fi team or 50s gangsters as well as classical high fantasy themed party.
Canvas Size - Max 200 x 200.
Colours - Max 32. Including transparency.
Transparency - Required.
Animation - No.
Slimes, gelatinous cubes, tar monsters, gumballs... Many RPG games & settings, apply to these formless creatures once they run out of ideas. But now, they shall have character! This week, we want you to create 3 sprites of these creatures as a group, RPG party, family or band, preferably drawn on the same sprite base (but not necessarily).
Canvas Size - Max. 300x300
Colours - Max. 32.
Transparency - Required.
Animation - No.
The challenge thread will have all the challenge updates. The thread is also a great place to post your WIPs.
Black then white are all I see in my infancy
Red and yellow then came to be, reaching out to me
Lets me see.
- Lateralus
This weekly is a palette challenge, but with a twist. You are provided with two fixed colours #ffffff and #000000. However the other two colours are not defined by hex codes.
You can either choose two shades of red or two shades of Yellow for the additional colours.
Sounds like a challenge? I hope so!
Canvas Size - Unrestricted
Colours - Exactly 4
Transparency - No.
Animation - Optional.
The challenge thread will have all the challenge updates. The thread is also a great place to post your WIPs.
Brrr it's cold outside! What better time than stay inside and participate in the brand new level challenge? Theme? Ice of course! This week, we want you to design a mock-up of a new, original video game (of any genre) showing an arctic, snow or ice level (or screen, in case of adventure games). For this particular game you are restricted to 16 specific colours, these colours are shown below.
Canvas size - Unrestricted.
Colours - Max 16. Must use only the colours from the palette below:
Animation - Optional.
Transparency - No.
Previous level challenges: Underwater, Lava, Desert, Jungle
The challenge thread will have all the challenge updates. The thread is also a great place to post your WIPs.
This week I want you to create some sort of arena. Depict a place for warriors to battle or athletes to compete.
You can keep your arena realistic or go crazy! This is the ideal challenge to test your knowledge of the top-down view or isometric perspective.
Canvas Size - Max. 200 x 200
Colours - Max. 32
Transparency - Optional.
Animation - Optional.
Happy new year pixel-heads! Have you missed a challenge from the past year? Did you start but couldn't find the time to finish? This week, we want you to pick any weekly challenge from 2019 and make an entry (check the ALL CHALLENGES coloumn on the right. The first challenge of 2019 was Antique Death Race).
Please make sure you write in the description which challenge you chose and make sure you follow it's rules and limitations. Have fun!
Canvas Size - see the corresponding challenge
Colours - see the corresponding challenge
Transparency - see the corresponding challenge
Animation - see the corresponding challenge
Diplomacy has failed -- the time has come to chose a side! Which caffeine juice will reign supreme, and which will go home bitter and over-steeped? Coffee...or tea!?
This week, we want you to draw a sprite or scene that involves either coffee or tea.
Canvas Size - Max. 130 x 100
Colours - Max. 15
Transparency - Optional.
Animation - Optional.
It's not Christmas yet pixel people.
However, in order to pass the time before the best challenge of the year starts, I want you to pixel a being that is either made out of ice or fire. It doesn't have to be fully made out of one of the two elements though. " A T-Rex with a fiery tail and lava breath, would that be ok?" I hear? Sure, go for it!
Canvas Size - Max. 250 x 250
Colours - Max. 16
Transparency - Optional.
Animation - Optional.
Choose your champion! This week, we want you to pixel your own portrait as if you are one of the selectable characters in a arcade beat'em up / fighting game. You can alter your hair, facial features, gender or even species as you want.
Canvas Size - Max. 100 x 100
Colours - Max. 14
Transparency - No.
Animation - No.
***EDIT*** The challenge is changed as sprite only (not a game mock-up).
'Tis apple season! But with a twist -- This week, we want you to personify one of the Apple varieties below as the hero of an Action Adventure Game (Metroidvania, Beat'em up, Run'n'gun games are all good as well). Sprite only.
McIntosh Red, Jona Gold, Cripps Pink, Northern Spy, Granny Smith
Canvas Size - 100*100 px max.
Colors - Max. 32
Transparency - Required.
Animation - Optional.
Remember the times that the games were bought in a big box? This week, we want you to design & draw a big box cover art for an existing or an imaginary game. Your cover art might contain elements like game name, company logo, platform logo and so on.
Canvas Size - Exactly 100*142 (vertical or horizontal)
Colors - Max. 16
Transparency - No.
Animation - No.
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