I am going to show you how to make a piece of pixel art out of stained wood. The organic nature of the wood adds a nice touch to the blockiness of the pixel sprite. In this example I am going to make a sprite from Zelda on the NES, but these same techniques can be used to create any sprite.
This Instructable will show you how I make a Link sprite...If you like it you should check out more pieces I've made at 8bitwood.com
Thanks!
This Instructable will show you how I make a Link sprite...If you like it you should check out more pieces I've made at 8bitwood.com
Thanks!
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Signing UpStep 1: Tools and Materials needed
In order to make the stained wood pixel piece of your dreams you will need:
-wood for the pixels (I use select Pine from the local Home Depot)
-A table saw in case you need to rip the wood down to a smaller width
-A planar to make sure every strip of wood is identical
-A chopsaw to cut the pixels
-Clamps...a big help for cutting the blocks and gluing them together
-wood stain
-foam brushes for the stain as well as sealant
-sealant! I use a high gloss finish
-Wood glue. I use Titebond II wood glue
-A nice big straightedge for the gluing process
-Time and Patience...You're going to be cutting a LOT of blocks of wood...make sure you are mentally prepped!
One of the first things you need to do is create a template plan of the sprite you want to create. Here I have an image of Link from Zelda on a grid. I just went into photoshop and gridded out the sprite based on images from the game. You will notice that I use this pattern to figure out how many of each colored block I need as well as planning out the grain pattern. I like to create a checkerboard pattern with the wood grain because I think it makes the piece more interesting.
Once you have your pattern and know exactly how many blocks you need you can move onto the next step.
-wood for the pixels (I use select Pine from the local Home Depot)
-A table saw in case you need to rip the wood down to a smaller width
-A planar to make sure every strip of wood is identical
-A chopsaw to cut the pixels
-Clamps...a big help for cutting the blocks and gluing them together
-wood stain
-foam brushes for the stain as well as sealant
-sealant! I use a high gloss finish
-Wood glue. I use Titebond II wood glue
-A nice big straightedge for the gluing process
-Time and Patience...You're going to be cutting a LOT of blocks of wood...make sure you are mentally prepped!
One of the first things you need to do is create a template plan of the sprite you want to create. Here I have an image of Link from Zelda on a grid. I just went into photoshop and gridded out the sprite based on images from the game. You will notice that I use this pattern to figure out how many of each colored block I need as well as planning out the grain pattern. I like to create a checkerboard pattern with the wood grain because I think it makes the piece more interesting.
Once you have your pattern and know exactly how many blocks you need you can move onto the next step.
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I had a blast working on this. It's really rewarding to see it coming together in the final hour or so.
Props dude
Great solution - thanks for sharing it!
I have no words, other than thank you.
The 10-year-old that lost all of his tokens when I tried to block Raging Bull at Chuck E. Cheese thanks you.
The 15-year-old that learned to not only beat Mike Tyson when his eyes blinked yellow, but to knock him out in the 1st round thanks you.
Should the day come that I shake your hand in person, please accept my virtual handshake for a job most well done.
I recognize the barbarian / ninja guy but i cant remember what game it was from. Also cant decide what the forth one is, is it the floating brain thing from metroid or one of the floating electric jellyfish things from Zelda.
I have been looking for a good green and blue wood dye but I never seem to find a store that has green or blue in a wood dye its always some kind of coloured varnish or fence paint. I like using dyes to colour thngs rather than just stain the all the piece.
I made a sailor girl pinup on my scroll saw and used wood dyes to colour it, I applied the dye on the end of a cotton bud, it sore of like using felt tip pens, also used some acrylic paints for the white and red trim and some black for the shoes. I still need to make a frame for it been looking for some drift wood any time we are at the beach, but i'm still looking.
Voted for you :)