DIY Pixel Wall Art
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Oh, y’all.
Where do I begin? It seems like it’s been ages since I planned this project. I kept putting it off and putting it off. Something happened to me last week, and I realized that I over-think everything!
Even my DIY projects.
So, I just decided to start getting stuff done without involving my brain. Ok. I did use my brain, but I’m shutting off the over-thinking part of it for good.
Hence, this, my favorite DIY Wall Art project ever since I ever started making art for the walls.
How to make your own DIY Pixel Wall Art
First choose your image.
I chose this fun and colorful heart image because I knew I wanted lots and lots of color!
Next, Create your pixellated image.
Here’s a good tutorial for how to create a triangular pixellated image in photoshop:
After I pixellated my image, I just cropped it to fit my canvas. I used Photoshop to create an exact size canvas and then sectioned it off so I could navigate painting.
Grid out your Canvas
Then I got to painting. Well, not quite. I had to grid out my canvas so I could know where to paint!
This was a huge 36″ x 48″ one I got on sale at the local craft store. I think I paid about $13 after all was said and done!
Then I measured it all out. My grid was 3″ by 1.5″.
Then I drew my lines with a long piece of scrap wood.
Start painting
I used loads of DecoArt Americana Mult-Surface Satin paint, but I still had to mix and mix and mix the paint to get the different variations in shades. That’s what really makes this work.
Here’s where I started. Just up in the corner, painting one triangle at a time.
I painted…
And painted…
And painted…
It took me about 3 solid days of painting to finish. The boys were home because Old Man Winter dumped on us, so I think it probably took me longer than it would have if they’d been in school.
There were lots and lots of snack breaks. Snacks for them… not me. Cross my pixellated heart!
Some Extra Tips
- Don’t worry about being super precise, just paint.
- Mix the colors as best you can, but don’t get bogged down in trying to make them match the photograph exactly.
- Don’t worry about washing your brush in between every single triangle. I found that if I were painting the same color in a different shade, it was easier to just grab some white or whatever and mix it right there on my paper plate.
- Do take breaks… whether you have hungry munchkins or not!
I framed her using a very simple box frame. It’s the simplest, easiest way to frame a DIY Canvas Wall Art.
If you have board and batten, this post will show you how to hang art over it. It’s easier than you think!
I’m seriously goo-goo-gah-gah over this, my BOLD ones!
It really makes my office feel so much more put together.
If you’d like to see more of my office updates, like my Gold Sharpie Wall, that restored Vintage light and my DIY Color Cord Light Pendant and Bulletin Board, Shazam Art and Tissue Paper Tassels, just visit my Office Gallery.
Office Gallery
What do you think about my Pixel Art?
Gwen, this is seriously SO cool! What an awesome way to create custom art with just a few supplies!! SWOON!
Thank you, my friend! I do think it was worth the time!!!
This is amazing!! I love how bright and cheery it is!
Thanks so much, Emily! I’m totally all for bright and cheery!
HOLY AMAZING!!!!!! i love love love it!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
Oh. My. Word. I’m in love.
Sniff, sniff… thank you! <3
This is awesome Gwen! Love the colors, love the geometrics, and love that you didn’t over think it!
Thank you, Corey! I’m getting my brain whipped into shape! 🙂
Holy Moly! This is freakin’ awesome, gal! You have outdone yourself this time. I vote for YOU for this week’s Creativity Unleashed Rockstar!
Haha! Thank you so much, Cindy!!!
Sorry for the dupe…I had pug help.
Haha! No worries!
Simply stunning!
Thank you so much, Malia!
Wowza, not only are you fabulously bold, but you’re patient too! I love how this turned out!!
Thank you, sweet friend! I must confess, I listened to lots and lots of Entrepreneur on Fire to keep me sane!
OMG Gwen, I don’t think I could love this any more. It’s phenomenal!!!
Thank you so much, Julia! That means so much coming from you!!!
Wow! This is absolutely beautiful. I would love to do something like this for my walls. I’ll have to pin this to my art board!
Thank you so much! 🙂
This is absolutely gorgeous! 🙂 I so wish I was better at painting…mine would look ridiculous, but your piece looks amazing! I love it!!
Oh, don’t look too closely! You should totally try it, Anna. My triangles aren’t perfect at all. 🙂
This is a BRILLIANT idea!! I love the way it looks against your stenciled wall. I’m very impressed by this project because it looks so detailed – sometimes those are the projects that I avoid due to time. But look how amazing it is when it is complete! Lesson learned. 😉 Thank you for sharing!!
Thank you, Meredith! It did take some time, but not forever. I actually worked on it pretty steadily over three days and got it done. It was totally worth it, I think. 🙂
Love it! Thanks for sharing! Must try this but on a smaller scale!
Thank you, Joan! Go for it!
So, so good! I love it! Pumped I found you on TT&J and looking forward to seeing more great projects!
This is so wonderful! I so want to make one of these now. Wow. Pinning and sharing everywhere!
How pretty! You did a beautiful job with the painting! I love this idea!
Awesome! Love this..
This is beautiful. All those triangles remind me of quilting.
WOW…Ah-Maz-ing!!!!!! It turned out so beautiful. I am obsessed with it:) I think I will try my hand at this.
This is just amazing! It really adds to the wall! I can’t believe you did this..so much patience involved! Beautifully done ! 🙂
Thank you, Aaria! What a beautiful name you have!
Thanks Gwen!
🙂 🙂 🙂
Love this! I think it’s te best pixel art tutorial out there. I can’t wait to try it for my guest bedroom ?? thanks so much
Thank you, Vinaya! You’re so sweet!
Wow….this is so incredibly gorgeous!!!! I hope I can get lucky enough to create something similar. Photoshop is so expensive…so I may not be bale ti pixelate directly onto the canvas. Thanx for sharing…. Im getting pretty excited!!!
Elizabeth,
Thank you for your kind words!
Good luck,
Gwen
You did an absolutely fantastic job on this artwork!!!!
Cheryl,
Thank you so much!
Gwen
I absolutely love this! Are the paints cheap as well? You said you created this for less than 20$, where can I get these different paints and how many of them would I have to buy to do this?! I’d love to try this myself. Very beautiful. 🙂
I bought mine at Michael’s, but I collected them over a period of time. So I really only had to pay for the canvas. One idea is to buy a big bottle of white paint and just a few colors and mix for different shades! Just buy as many as you’d like and go with it! You could even make it monochromatic if you mixed loads of different shades with the white!
xoxo
Gwen
I absolutely love this and am now obsessed with your projects. Would you be willing to share your pixelated template for those of us without photoshop? 😁
Hi Ashley,
You can just right click and save that image and print it if you want!
xoxo
Gwen
That is so beautiful!!! Did you just draw squares on the canvas or did you draw the triangles?
Oh, and how many cm are your squares??
My squares are 3″ each.
Hope that helps!
Gwen
I drew the triangles too, Charlotte!
Thank you! I just didn’t see the triangles, and it really does help.
Absolutely! Good luck!
xoxo
Gwen
I absolutely LOVE your painting! What a great idea for a project! Thanks 😊😍