Minecraft Creeper Canvas

My husband and my sons have become rabid fans of the game Minecraft.  Even my 2 year old gets excited when my husband turns the Xbox on and he can't even SAY Minecraft.  (Mini Mini! is what he calls it.)

Both of my sons are in love with one particular enemy in the game.  A green fellow called a Creeper.  To me the Creeper looks a bit like a walking cactus, and it has a nasty habit of, well, creeping up on you and blowing holes in things.

My oldest son even has a stuffed Creeper toy that he sleeps with every single night.

So when I first saw the Minecraft Creeper face Pixel art pop up on my Pinterest page I just KNEW my son would love to have it for his bedroom wall.  Then I found a book called Craft Projects for Minecraft, and it had a pixel pattern in the back that I could use!  So I created one.

Minecraft Creeper Face Pixel Art

The entire world of Minecraft is pixelated.  Very different from most of todays hyper-realistic video games.  But much easier to create art out of.

To make this Minecraft Creeper canvas you basically just have to be able to draw and color in a bunch of squares.

SUPPLIES

12x12 canvas (use larger or smaller square if desired, but should be square)
4 shades of green paint (or 1 if you don't want a pixel art creeper)
Black Paint
Ruler, Pencil, Paintbrush
Painters Tape (optional)
A copy of Craft Projects for Minecraft and Pixel Art Fans for Minecraft Creeper face template (and other fun Minecraft projects)

HOW TO

Take your canvas, ruler and pencil and begin to mark off squares to form an 8x8 grid.  If you use a 12x12 canvas like I did, then each of your squares should be 1.5 inches.  Make your marks lightly.

Remember to mark lines lightly so they can be easily erased later
or hidden under a layer of paint.

I marked off 1.5 inch marks along the top and the bottom, then I took my ruler and traced a light line between the two marks.

Repeat the process along the right and left sides.

Your canvas should look like this:

You should create an 8x8 grid on your square canvas of choice.

To make it easier on myself I use the template in the back of Craft Projects for Minecraft and made my grid into a paint by number, coordinating my paints with number marked on the grid.

I numbered mine 1 through 4 for my shades of green,
with B to indicate black for the Creeper's face.

If you prefer you can use one shade of green, and color all the squares except the face squares one solid green.  I wanted the full pixel effect.

Now, if you want very crisp clear lines you need to take it a step farther and block off your squares using painters tape.  That would take more time and effort than I wanted to put in this project however, so I just free-handed it using a smallish paintbrush.

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 Once it was all done I hung in on my son's bedroom wall to surprise him when he got home from school.

He didn't like it as much as the Minecraft Poster his dad had gotten him recently, but he did say he didn't want me to put it in his brothers room instead.

TIPS

*  Keep your pencil marks light, so they are hidden under the paint.  They cannot be erased once painted over.
*  If you use the paint by number method like I did, then it is easier if you work one color at a time.
*  Let each color dry before applying a second coat (if needed.)
*  When panting, let one square dry completely before painting a neighboring square, to keep your pixels from blending together.