What Is Pixel Art?
Look very closely at a phone or computer screen and you will find that every picture is made of tiny squares of light called pixels (short for “picture elements”). Each pixel shows just one colour at a time. Put thousands of them side by side and your eyes blend them into photos, letters and videos.
Early video games and computers had very few pixels to work with, so artists had to design characters on small grids, choosing every square by hand. A hero might be just sixteen squares tall. That chunky, blocky look is now a style of its own called pixel art, and it is still used in games, icons, cross-stitch, bead crafts and mosaics. Making pixel art teaches children to simplify a shape, to plan with symmetry and to see a picture as a grid of decisions.
Grid References on Maps
Many maps, street directories and board games split the page into squares with letters along the bottom and numbers up the side. A square is named by its letter and number together, like C4: go along to column C, then up to row 4. This is how the Starter level works. It is a gentle first step because the letter and the number are clearly different, so they are hard to mix up.
Coordinates: (x, y)
In coordinates, both directions use numbers, written in brackets with a comma: (3, 5). The first number, x, tells you how far to go across. The second number, y, tells you how far to go up. Because both are numbers, the order really matters: (3, 5) and (5, 3) are different squares. The most famous memory trick is:
Along the corridor, then up the stairs.
You have to walk along the corridor before you can climb the stairs, so x always comes before y. Children who swap the two numbers are making the most common coordinate mistake there is, and the challenges below point it out whenever it happens.
Naming Squares, Not Lines
On this page, every letter and number names a square. The labels sit in the middle of their column or row, and a coordinate picks out one whole square to colour, just like a pixel. This matches pixel art, maps and colour-by-coordinates puzzles. In later maths lessons, coordinates usually name points where grid lines cross instead. The two ideas fit together neatly: think of each square here as standing for the point right in its centre.
Negative Coordinates
The Expert level uses a grid with the square (0, 0) in the middle. The x-axis runs across through the middle row and the y-axis runs up through the middle column. Squares to the left of the y-axis have negative x numbers; squares below the x-axis have negative y numbers. So (−3, 2) means three squares left and two squares up from the middle, and (2, −4) means two right and four down. The rule does not change: across first, then up or down.
How to Use This Page
- Draw in the studio. Pick a colour and draw with the pen, flood an area with Fill, or use Pick colour to copy a colour from the picture. Turn on Mirror to draw both halves of a symmetric picture at once. Your drawing is saved in this browser automatically.
- Start from a picture. Choose one of the twelve starter pictures and change it: give the cat stripes or the rocket a new colour.
- Choose a level and a challenge. Plot it asks you to tap a square from its name; Name it shows a highlighted square and asks for its name; Colour by coordinates gives a short list of squares to colour, which turns into a little picture.
- Print. Print a mystery picture at the chosen level, or turn your own drawing into a coordinates puzzle or a colour-by-number sheet for a friend. Each comes with an answer page.
Tips for Parents and Teachers
- Say it out loud. Ask children to say “along three, up five” as they find a square. Talking through the order fixes the habit faster than silent practice.
- Use a finger. Slide one finger along the bottom to the x number, then straight up to the y number. Younger children benefit from keeping their finger on the grid.
- Swap roles. One child draws a small picture on squared paper and reads out its coordinates; the other plots them. Mistakes show up instantly as a wonky picture.
- Connect to the real world. Seat numbers in a cinema, a chessboard, a spreadsheet and a map all use the same idea of naming a square by its column and row.
- Keep it short. Five questions is plenty for a young child. A finished mystery picture on the fridge is a great reward.
Nothing to Install, Nothing Uploaded
The pixel art studio and the coordinate challenges run entirely in your browser on any phone, tablet or computer, with no account and no download. Your drawing and your last level and challenge are remembered on this device only; nothing is sent to us, and saved pictures go straight to your own device.
Frequently Asked Questions
x comes first. A handy rule is “along the corridor, then up the stairs”: go across to the x number first, then up (or down) to the y number. (3, 5) is three across and five up; (5, 3) is a different square.
On this page every number and letter names a square: it sits in the middle of its column or row, and a coordinate picks out one whole square to colour. In later maths, coordinates usually name points where grid lines cross; you can think of each square here as standing for the point at its centre.
On the Expert grid the middle square is (0, 0). Negative x numbers are to the left of the y-axis and negative y numbers are below the x-axis, so (−3, 2) is three squares left of the middle and two squares up.
Yes. There is no account, no download and no limit. Drawings are saved only in your own browser, and saved pictures go straight to your own device.