How to make pixel art in Minecraft
Pick a picture with bold shapes
Sprites, logos and cartoon characters convert best. Crop away empty background first; transparent areas are left as gaps.
Choose the width
Every pixel becomes one block, so the width is the number of blocks across. The height follows the picture's shape.
Choose your blocks
Turn block groups on or off to match what you can gather. Fewer groups means fewer block types to collect but less accurate colours.
Gather, then build one layer at a time
Collect everything on the block list, then follow the build guide. Tap any block in the preview to jump to its layer.
Best blocks for Minecraft pixel art
- Concrete has flat, saturated colour with almost no texture, which makes it the cleanest choice for logos and sprites.
- Wool is a little lighter and softer than concrete and is cheap to farm from sheep. It burns, so keep it away from lava and fire.
- Terracotta adds muted browns, reds, pinks and greys that concrete and wool lack, which is what skin tones and wood need.
- Planks, stone and natural blocks fill gaps between those colours but have visible grain, so they suit photos more than flat art.
The colours below are what each block looks like on average, which is what the generator matches against. They come from the game's own textures, so a light blue in your picture lands on the block that actually looks light blue in the world.
| Colour | Wool | Concrete | Terracotta |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | #eaeced | #cfd5d6 | #d2b2a1 |
| Light gray | #8e8e87 | #7d7d73 | #876b62 |
| Gray | #3f4448 | #373a3e | #3a2a24 |
| Black | #15151a | #080a0f | #251710 |
| Brown | #724829 | #603c20 | #4d3324 |
| Red | #a12723 | #8e2121 | #8f3d2f |
| Orange | #f17614 | #e06101 | #a25426 |
| Yellow | #f9c628 | #f1af15 | #ba8523 |
| Lime | #70b91a | #5ea919 | #687635 |
| Green | #556e1c | #495b24 | #4c532a |
| Cyan | #158a91 | #157788 | #575b5b |
| Light blue | #3aafd9 | #2489c7 | #716d8a |
| Blue | #35399d | #2d2f8f | #4a3c5b |
| Purple | #7a2aad | #64209c | #764656 |
| Magenta | #be45b4 | #a9309f | #96586d |
| Pink | #ee8dac | #d6658f | #a24e4f |
| Plain | – | – | #985e44 |
Dithering: on or off?
Minecraft has a limited set of block colours, so smooth gradients in a photo turn into flat bands. Dithering spreads the difference between the picture and the chosen block onto the next blocks, which mixes two blocks where a colour falls between them. From a distance it reads as a smooth shade.
Turn it on for photos, skies and faces. Leave it off for sprites and logos: it adds scattered single blocks that are slow to build and look noisy up close.
Pixel art size and block count
Every pixel is one block, so size adds up fast. A 64×64 picture with no gaps is 4,096 blocks, exactly 64 stacks; a 128×128 picture is 16,384 blocks, about nine and a half shulker boxes. The block count above is exact for your picture, since transparent areas are left empty. Walls are limited by the build height, 384 blocks from Y -64 to 319, and floors can be as large as you like but are easiest to view from above.
Pixel art schematic for Litematica and WorldEdit
The .schem download is a Sponge schematic. With WorldEdit or FastAsyncWorldEdit, put it in the WorldEdit schematics folder, then run //schem load with its name and //paste. Litematica versions that read Sponge schematics can load it as a placement to build over by hand in survival.
Pixel art or map art?
Pixel art is meant to be seen in the world; map art is laid flat so it looks right on a map item, using the map's own colours. For art that hangs in item frames, use the map art generator. For round frames and domes around your art, the circle generator plans those.
Minecraft pixel art questions
How do you turn a picture into Minecraft pixel art?
Upload the picture, choose how many blocks wide it should be and which blocks you want to use. The generator matches every pixel to the closest-looking block, counts the blocks you need and shows the build one row at a time.
What are the best blocks for Minecraft pixel art?
Concrete and wool give the cleanest, brightest colours, and terracotta adds muted browns, reds and skin tones. Together they cover 49 colours. Planks, stone and other blocks help with in-between shades but have more visible texture.
How big should Minecraft pixel art be?
Sprites and logos look good at 16 to 64 blocks wide. Photos and detailed art need 128 blocks or more. A wall can only be as tall as the build height: 384 blocks, from Y -64 to 319, in current Java and Bedrock.
Should I turn dithering on?
Use dithering for photos and gradients: it mixes nearby blocks so smooth shading doesn't turn into flat bands. Leave it off for logos, sprites and cartoon art, where clean areas of one block are easier to build.
Can I paste the pixel art with WorldEdit or Litematica?
Yes. Download the .schem file and load it with WorldEdit or FastAsyncWorldEdit (//schem load, then //paste), or open it with a version of Litematica that reads Sponge schematics. Walls stand upright and floors lie flat, as you chose in the generator.
Does Minecraft pixel art work on Bedrock?
Yes. Wool, concrete, terracotta and the other blocks look the same on Bedrock, so the block list and row guide work on both editions. Schematic files are for Java tools such as WorldEdit and Litematica.