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

How to Make a Pixel Art Raccoon for Beginners

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

How to Make a Pixel Art Raccoon

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

  1. Select a Pixel Art Software such as Adobe Photoshop or Mega Voxels
  2. Create a 32×32 pixel grid
  3. Sketch out an Outline for the shape of the raccoon
  4. Fill in the color of the pixel art raccoon
  5. Draw a Shade on the raccoon 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 raccoon, 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 raccoon 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 raccoon, 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 raccoon. 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 raccoon on. Your raccoon 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 raccoon

Sketch an Outline for the Raccoon

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

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

Fill in the Color

Now that you made an outline for your pixel art raccoon, we will add some color to make it stand out. Fill in the body section of the raccoon a light blue gray (#8695A0) and the stripes dark gray (#2D2D2D). The fur around the eyes and mouth will be a very light gray (#DEDEE0). Try matching the picture of our 8 bit pixel art raccoon below.

Simple pixel art raccoon 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 raccoon using a single color. This color will be applied to the bottom of the body of the raccoon. Remember, to create a shadow color for the raccoon we will use a darker blue gray based on the color we used before (#6F7E88). We will also add a darker gray (#C9C9C9) to the bottom of the light fur of the raccoon. Try to match where we put the shadows in the image below.

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

So now that you got the basic idea we will continue adding some depth to our raccoon to give it a 3D feel. Let’s create a highlight using the same blue gray from the main raccoon section, but instead of going darker this time we will go lighter (#8796A0). Remember, this doesn’t have to be the exact color in fact this is an opportunity to make the raccoon look like your own. Use our image as a guide for your raccoon.

Adding highlights to the 8 bit pixel raccoon

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

Kawaii pixel art raccoon on a transparent background

Fill the Background Color

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

Cute Pixel Art raccoon on Blue Background

Where to Go From Here

Congratulations! You now know how to create your very own pixel art raccoon. Try making a habitat so that your new pixel art raccoon has a home to live in.

Bonus: Make a 3D Pixel Art Raccoon

3D Pixel Art Raccoon

Now that you have drawn your own pixel art raccoon, 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 raccoon into a 3D pixel art raccoon.

You can now create 3D turntable videos of your 3D pixel art raccoon and even view your raccoon in Augmented Reality!