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

How to Make a Pixel Art Ladybug for Beginners

Are you ready to design your own pixel art ladybug? Learning how to draw a cute pixel art ladybug is more popular than ever! Whether you’re looking to create a simple pixel art ladybug sprite for your arcade mobile game or maybe you just want to share a cute new pixel art ladybug as part of your bug collection on your social media profile, this pixel art tutorial will help you make a pixel ladybug fast and easy.

How to Make a Pixel Art Ladybug

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

  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 ladybug
  4. Fill in the color of the pixel art ladybug
  5. Draw a Shade on the ladybug 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 ladybug, 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 design your own pixel art ladybug 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 ladybug, 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

To begin we will be using a simple 32×32 pixel grid to draw a small pixel art ladybug. 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 ladybug on. Your ladybug 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 lady bug

Sketch an Outline for the Ladybug

Next we will start by making the outline for the ladybug so we can get the overall shape for our pixel ladybug. 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 for your ladybug or like we mentioned before feel free to design your own.

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

Fill in the Color

Now that you made an outline for your pixel art ladybug, we will add some color to make it stand out. Fill in the main section of the ladybug red (#f44336) and the head on top a gray color (#4D4D4D). Try matching the picture of our 8 bit pixel art ladybug below.

Simple pixel art ladybug with solid colors

Draw the Shading

So whenever you create 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 ladybug using a single color. This color will be applied to the bottom of the ladybug. Remember, to create a shadow color for the ladybug we will use a darker red (#D93B30). Try to match where we put the shadows in the image below.

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

So now that you got the basic idea we will continue adding some depth to our ladybug to give it a 3D feel. Let’s create a highlight for the ladybug using the same red color from the ladybug itself, but instead of going darker this time we will go lighter (#F4574C). Remember, this doesn’t have to be the exact color in fact this is an opportunity to make the ladybug look like your own. In our version we only highlighted the top pixels of the ladybug. Use our image as a guide for your ladybug.

Adding highlights to the 8 bit pixel ladybug

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

Kawaii pixel art ladybug on a transparent background

Fill the Background Color

Finally, let’s change the background color of our ladybug sprite to really make our ladybug 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 pixel ladybug.

Cute Pixel Art ladybug on Blue Background

Where to Go From Here

Congratulations! You now know how to create your very own pixel art ladybug. Try making your own garden scene by giving your ladybug some other insects to hang out with.

Bonus: Make a 3D Pixel Art Ladybug

3D Pixel Art Ladybug

Now that you have drawn your own pixel art ladybug, 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 ladybug into a 3D pixel art ladybug. You can now create 3D turntable videos of your 3D pixel art ladybug and even view your ladybug in Augmented Reality!