8-Bit Super Mario Brothers Pixel Art (Free Pattern)
; "Pinterest"){kind=small}
I'm a huge fan of Nintendo's Super Mario Brothers, from the original NES game console up through every iteration since. I decided recently to create a tribute to the game by making some pixel art images out of wooden blocks. What fun Mario and Luigi craft project they would make, not to mention a great retro decoration for my office!
VIDEO: Creating Super Mario Pixel Art Decor
If you can't see the video, try viewing it directly on YouTube.
Free Super Mario Brothers Pixel Art Pattern
I decided to make Mario, Luigi, the red Super Mushroom, and the Fire Flower, and I went with the 8-bit version because the characters were only 16 pixels tall. I created a grid pattern for all four characters. If you want to play along at home, just download my 8-bit Super Mario pixel art pattern and print it out.
Making Super Mario Pixel Art from Wood Blocks
Since my grid pattern is only 16 pixels tall, I could use 1/2" wood blocks (anything smaller would have been hard to handle) and the finished pieces would be 8" tall. Perfect! You could easily use any size block you want to create larger or smaller pieces if you wish.
Then I gathered up a bunch of 1/2" wooden blocks, some multi-surface acrylic paint, and several foam cosmetic wedges.
I counted up the pixels to see how many of each color I would need, so that I could paint just the right number of blocks. To make one of each character, I needed 728 blocks total (in these recommended colors of multi-surface paint):
- 184 black (Black Tie)
- 64 blue (True Blue)
- 93 red (Lipstick)
- 125 white (Cotton Ball)
- 50 orange (Pumpkin Patch)
- 30 yellow (Canary)
- 48 dark green (Woodland Green)
- 40 bright green (Turf Green)
- 66 beige (Buff Beige)
- 28 brown (Coffee Bean)
I didn't relish the idea of hand-painting each of these tiny blocks, so I came up with a technique to make it easy to paint all the blocks of a given color at once. First, I counted enough blocks for one color, then I lined them all up in a tight grid. Also, to keep the finish consistent across pieces, I made sure the end grain was facing up on every block.
Then I used a cosmetic wedge sponge to just dab the color on. Having them in a tight grid made it super easy to paint just one side of all the blocks at once.
Oh my goodness, this made it SO much easier!
I cranked through my colors, making enough of each one, and applying a couple coats where needed.
When the blocks were all dry, it was finally time to assemble. I did this one row at a time, following my pattern. I first laid out all the blocks I would need for a row so that they were all ready, then I glued that row of blocks, one by one. I just dabbed a little wood glue onto the sides of each block and pressed them in place. Then I squeezed the whole row tightly, and wiped away any glue that squirted out.
I was tickled to see each of the characters come together, based on the pattern.
But then I realized that the sides of each piece still had unpainted wood. Oops!
Easy fix, though. I just painted the sides with whatever color the top of the block was. For the mushroom and flower, all the sides were black, so this was a quick job.
Mario and Luigi took a little more time, because their edges were several different colors.
As a final step, I sprayed the finished pieces with a clear glossy varnish, to give them some protection and shine.
I'm thrilled with the results. And once I worked out a few tricks to make it easy to deal with so many tiny blocks, I found this to be a rather addictive art form, and will probably expand the technique into more ideas later. The possibilities are endless!
13 comments so far:
When you painted the blocks, you should have used contact paper or tape on the back to hold them together and then peeled it away once they were dry. Love the patterns, thx!
Have you ever thought about making pixel art using Perler beads?
Jennifer, we have thought about it, and actually have a project like that on our to-do list! Stay tuned. :)
amazing idea
Where did you buy your block from? They are all about the same size. The blocks I brought where all different sizes and it looked a mess lol so let me know where you got the blocks from thank you
Odessa, we picked up our blocks at our local craft store, but there are lots of options on Amazon as well.
Where did you get the paint for this and what color would you recommend if you can’t find the same color you used on the project?
Kathy, I provided a list of colors in the tutorial above, with links to where you can purchase them on Amazon. You can probably also find them at your local craft store. As for alternate colors, I can't really provide suggestions without knowing all the options available to you... but you could open up this tutorial on your phone at the store and color match from the photos.
Chica, how many characters did your 728 blocks make?
Angela, the 728 makes one of each character.
Made these with my son and his friends! Came out great :) Thank you! We ended up finding the blocks at the Dollar Store.
My friend and I are interested in a copy of the template for the mushroom and star. Can you share a link to the template you used. Also do you have one for the flower power?
Cynthia, you'll find our downloadable template linked in the post above, with patterns for Mario, Luigi, the red Super Mushroom, and the Fire Flower. Those are the only patterns we have created.