In this easy pixel tutorial you will learn how to make a pixel art boat! We will go over the different steps it takes to make your very own boat made out of pixels!

How to Make a Pixel Art Boat for Beginners

Are you ready to make your own pixel art boat? Learning how to draw a cute pixel art boat is more popular than ever! No matter if you’re looking to create a simplle pixel art boat sprite for your 2D video game or perhaps you just want to share some new 2D art like a racing boat to your social media account this pixel art tutorial will help you make a pixel boat quick and easy.

How to Make a Pixel Art Boat

These are the basic steps for how to make a pixel art boat:

  1. Select a Pixel Art Software such as Adobe Photoshop, Mega Voxels or Aseprite
  2. Create a 32×32 pixel grid
  3. Sketch out an Outline for the shape of the boat
  4. Fill in the color of the pixel art boat
  5. Draw a Shade on the boat to create depth
  6. Fill in the Background with Color

Now that you are familiar with the basic steps on how to create a pixel art boat, we will cover each step visually so that you can follow along on how to create it.

If you are completely new to pixel art we recommend reading our post How to Create Pixel Art: Beginner’s Tutorial

Select a Pixel Art Software

In this beginner tutorial we will be showing you the steps to create your own pixel art boat regardless of what pixel editor software you prefer to use. Before we begin you will need to know how to create a grid and use the pencil tool in the software of your choice. Once you create your pixel art boat, you can use the pixel art in other games such as Minecraft or software such as Unity Game Engine. We offer tutorials on the following pixel art editor’s so feel free to pick the one that you feel most comfortable with:

Want to see what pixel art software is best for you? Read our post Top Free Pixel Art Software

Create a Grid

For starters we will be using a standard 36×36 pixel grid to draw a small pixel art boat. Making 32×32 pixel art is a common size when making pixel art, especially for projects like video games. Be sure that your canvas is set to the color White (#FFFFFF). This will be our canvas that we use to draw our pixel art boat. Your boat pixel art grid should have a canvas, also known as a spreadsheet, that looks something similar to this:

A blank canvas for drawing the pixel art boat

Sketch an Outline for the Boat

Next we will start by making the outline for the boat so we can get the basic shape. To do this choose the color Black (#000000) and activate the pencil tool in your editor. Since this determines the overall shape, feel free to adjust the outline to what match your game or art project. As a guide, you can use the outline we made below or like we mentioned before feel free to make your own.

An outline of the pixel art boat grid similar to a spreadsheet

Fill in the Color

Now that you have an outline for your boat, we will add some color to make it stand out. Fill in the sail section with a gray-white color (#EEEEEE). After that color the main section of the boat a dark blue (#2D81C0). Lastly, let’s color the flag pole brown (#B07F62) and the flag red (#F33900). Try matching our picture of our 8 bit pixel art boat below.

Simple pixel art boat with solid colors

Draw the Shading

Now whenever you make pixel art there are essentially two parts to shading: the highlights and the shadows. We will start with the shadows. We will be applying a shadow to our 32×32 pixel art boat using a single color. To create a shadow color we will start with a darker blue based on the blue we used on the boat (#2873AC). To create a shadow effect, we will draw an outline along the bottom section of the boat to give it a more three dimensional feel. Check out how are pixel art boat after we added a shade to it.

32x32 Pixel art boat with shadows to give depth to the boat

So now that you got the basic idea we will continue adding some depth to our boat to give it a 3D feel. Let’s create a highlight using the same gray from the sail, but instead of going darker we will go lighter (#FFFFFF). Remember, this doesn’t have to be the exact color in fact this is an opportunity to make the boat look like your own. In our version we highlighted the top section of the sail. We also did this to the top of the boat as well (#328ED4).

Adding highlights to the 8 bit pixel boat

Great! When you are happy with your shadows and highlights on your boat, be sure to view your final product. To see your pixel art boat go ahead and turn off the grid lines to make sure you like the way the boat came out.

Kawaii pixel art boat on a transparent background

Fill the Background Color

Finally, let’s change the background color of our boat sprite to really make our boat stand out nicely. Select the Bucket fill tool in your editor. For the color enter a very Light Blue (#BCEAFE). Then simply click on the white area outside of the boat sprite.

Cute Pixel Art boat on Blue Background

Where to Go From Here

Congratulations! You now know how to create your very own pixel art boat. Try making different boat pixel art by using other boat types and colors like a speed boat or a cargo boat.

Bonus: Make a 3D Pixel Art Boat

3D Pixel Art Boat

Now that you have drawn your own pixel art boat, you can turn it 3D with Mega Voxels. Mega Voxels contains a 3D Pixel Art Maker that allows you to convert traditional 2D pixels into 3D pixels. Simply download the free Mega Voxels app for iOS or Android.

Then import the pixel art you just made using the Add File button inside of the My Gallery page. And that’s it! Mega Voxels automatically transforms you pixel art boat into a 3D pixel art boat. You can now create 3D turntable videos of your 3D pixel art boat and even view your boat in Augmented Reality!