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DIY Pixel Wall Art

by Gwen Mar 2

The Bold Abode is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

Read my full disclosure here.

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.

See how to make your own DIY Pixel Wall art with theboldabode.com. What a fun and happy way to express your colorful self!

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!

See how to make your own DIY Pixel Wall art with theboldabode.com. What a fun and happy way to express your colorful self! 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.

See how to make your own DIY Pixel Wall art with theboldabode.com. What a fun and happy way to express your colorful self!

 

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!

diy pixel art-12

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″.

diy pixel art-13

diy pixel art-14

Then I drew my lines with a long piece of scrap wood.

diy pixel art-15

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.

diy pixel art-18

Here’s where I started.  Just up in the corner, painting one triangle at a time.

diy pixel art-17

diy pixel art-10

I painted…

See how to make your own DIY Pixel Wall art with theboldabode.com. What a fun and happy way to express your colorful self!

And painted…

See how to make your own DIY Pixel Wall art with theboldabode.com. What a fun and happy way to express your colorful self!

And painted…

See how to make your own DIY Pixel Wall art with theboldabode.com. What a fun and happy way to express your colorful self!

See how to make your own DIY Pixel Wall art with theboldabode.com. What a fun and happy way to express your colorful self!

See how to make your own DIY Pixel Wall art with theboldabode.com. What a fun and happy way to express your colorful self!

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!

See how to make your own DIY Pixel Wall art with theboldabode.com. What a fun and happy way to express your colorful self!

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!

See how to make your own DIY Pixel Wall art with theboldabode.com. What a fun and happy way to express your colorful self!

I’m seriously goo-goo-gah-gah over this, my BOLD ones!

See how to make your own DIY Pixel Wall art with theboldabode.com. What a fun and happy way to express your colorful self!

It really makes my office feel so much more put together.

See how to make your own DIY Pixel Wall art with theboldabode.com. What a fun and happy way to express your colorful self!

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

office-gallery-lg

What do you think about my Pixel Art?

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The Bold Abode is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com as well as other affiliate networks.

What the BOLD ones say:

  1. keri @ shaken together says

    Mar 2 at 7:44 am

    Gwen, this is seriously SO cool! What an awesome way to create custom art with just a few supplies!! SWOON!

    • Gwen Whitfield says

      Mar 2 at 9:18 am

      Thank you, my friend! I do think it was worth the time!!!

  2. Emily @ Two Purple Couches says

    Mar 2 at 8:23 am

    This is amazing!! I love how bright and cheery it is!

    • Gwen Whitfield says

      Mar 2 at 9:18 am

      Thanks so much, Emily! I’m totally all for bright and cheery!

  3. cassie says

    Mar 2 at 8:40 am

    HOLY AMAZING!!!!!! i love love love it!

    • Gwen Whitfield says

      Mar 2 at 9:17 am

      Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

  4. Amy W says

    Mar 2 at 11:10 am

    Oh. My. Word. I’m in love.

    • Gwen Whitfield says

      Mar 2 at 11:15 am

      Sniff, sniff… thank you! <3

  5. Corey @ Tinysidekick says

    Mar 2 at 10:54 pm

    This is awesome Gwen! Love the colors, love the geometrics, and love that you didn’t over think it!

    • Gwen Whitfield says

      Mar 3 at 6:40 am

      Thank you, Corey! I’m getting my brain whipped into shape! 🙂

  6. Cindy Compton says

    Mar 4 at 4:14 am

    Holy Moly! This is freakin’ awesome, gal! You have outdone yourself this time. I vote for YOU for this week’s Creativity Unleashed Rockstar!

    • Gwen Whitfield says

      Mar 4 at 2:02 pm

      Haha! Thank you so much, Cindy!!!

  7. Cindy Compton says

    Mar 4 at 4:16 am

    Sorry for the dupe…I had pug help.

    • Gwen Whitfield says

      Mar 4 at 2:03 pm

      Haha! No worries!

  8. Malia says

    Mar 4 at 8:15 am

    Simply stunning!

    • Gwen Whitfield says

      Mar 4 at 2:03 pm

      Thank you so much, Malia!

  9. Courtenay @ The Creek Line House says

    Mar 4 at 10:01 am

    Wowza, not only are you fabulously bold, but you’re patient too! I love how this turned out!!

    • Gwen Whitfield says

      Mar 4 at 2:04 pm

      Thank you, sweet friend! I must confess, I listened to lots and lots of Entrepreneur on Fire to keep me sane!

  10. [email protected] says

    Mar 4 at 6:51 pm

    OMG Gwen, I don’t think I could love this any more. It’s phenomenal!!!

    • Gwen Whitfield says

      Mar 7 at 7:23 am

      Thank you so much, Julia! That means so much coming from you!!!

  11. Eloquence says

    Mar 6 at 10:21 am

    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!

    • Gwen Whitfield says

      Mar 7 at 7:25 am

      Thank you so much! 🙂

  12. Anna @ Sunny Side Ups says

    Mar 6 at 11:30 am

    This is absolutely gorgeous! 🙂 I so wish I was better at painting…mine would look ridiculous, but your piece looks amazing! I love it!!

    • Gwen Whitfield says

      Mar 7 at 7:26 am

      Oh, don’t look too closely! You should totally try it, Anna. My triangles aren’t perfect at all. 🙂

  13. Meredith Wheeler says

    Mar 6 at 10:16 pm

    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!!

    • Gwen Whitfield says

      Mar 7 at 7:27 am

      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. 🙂

  14. Joan says

    Mar 7 at 5:09 am

    Love it! Thanks for sharing! Must try this but on a smaller scale!

    • Gwen Whitfield says

      Mar 7 at 7:27 am

      Thank you, Joan! Go for it!

  15. Rachel Anderson says

    Mar 8 at 12:34 am

    So, so good! I love it! Pumped I found you on TT&J and looking forward to seeing more great projects!

  16. Jennie @ Little Girl Designs] says

    Mar 9 at 9:38 pm

    This is so wonderful! I so want to make one of these now. Wow. Pinning and sharing everywhere!

  17. Maria says

    Mar 11 at 8:37 am

    How pretty! You did a beautiful job with the painting! I love this idea!

  18. Marni @ Haberdashery Fun says

    Mar 11 at 9:38 am

    Awesome! Love this..

  19. Faith Junaid says

    Mar 14 at 1:43 am

    This is beautiful. All those triangles remind me of quilting.

  20. Michelle says

    Mar 15 at 5:41 pm

    WOW…Ah-Maz-ing!!!!!! It turned out so beautiful. I am obsessed with it:) I think I will try my hand at this.

  21. Aaria says

    Jul 25 at 6:13 am

    This is just amazing! It really adds to the wall! I can’t believe you did this..so much patience involved! Beautifully done ! 🙂

    • Gwen says

      Aug 10 at 4:35 pm

      Thank you, Aaria! What a beautiful name you have!

      • Aaria says

        Aug 14 at 6:47 am

        Thanks Gwen!

        • Gwen says

          Aug 14 at 10:02 am

          🙂 🙂 🙂

  22. Vinaya says

    Aug 10 at 11:43 pm

    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

    • Gwen says

      Aug 13 at 7:47 pm

      Thank you, Vinaya! You’re so sweet!

  23. Elizabeth Cro says

    Nov 10 at 5:26 pm

    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!!!

    • Gwen says

      Nov 12 at 12:23 pm

      Elizabeth,
      Thank you for your kind words!
      Good luck,
      Gwen

  24. Cheryl says

    Mar 3 at 6:56 pm

    You did an absolutely fantastic job on this artwork!!!!

    • Gwen says

      Mar 10 at 8:58 pm

      Cheryl,
      Thank you so much!
      Gwen

  25. Melissa says

    May 7 at 8:27 pm

    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. 🙂

    • Gwen says

      May 11 at 1:13 pm

      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

  26. Ashley Walker says

    Jul 15 at 12:42 pm

    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? 😁

    • Gwen says

      Jul 19 at 12:44 pm

      Hi Ashley,

      You can just right click and save that image and print it if you want!

      xoxo

      Gwen

  27. Charlotte says

    Jul 16 at 4:13 am

    That is so beautiful!!! Did you just draw squares on the canvas or did you draw the triangles?

    • Charlotte says

      Jul 16 at 4:21 am

      Oh, and how many cm are your squares??

      • Gwen says

        Jul 19 at 12:43 pm

        My squares are 3″ each.

        Hope that helps!

        Gwen

    • Gwen says

      Jul 19 at 12:42 pm

      I drew the triangles too, Charlotte!

      • Charlotte says

        Jul 19 at 1:50 pm

        Thank you! I just didn’t see the triangles, and it really does help.

        • Gwen says

          Jul 20 at 6:57 am

          Absolutely! Good luck!

          xoxo

          Gwen

  28. Lauren says

    Jun 19 at 2:59 am

    I absolutely LOVE your painting! What a great idea for a project! Thanks 😊😍

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Thank you so much for sharing from The Bold Abode! Please keep in mind that all images and text on this site are property of The Bold Abode. Feel free to use one or two photos provided that a link back to my original post is included. Please do not remove any watermarks, crop, or edit any of my images without first obtaining written permission from me. All free printables offered are for personal use only. Pinning is always welcome and appreciated! Thank you!
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The Bold Abode is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

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