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

How to Make a pixel art shark for Beginners

Are you excited to make your own pixel art shark? Learning how to draw a cute pixel art shark is more popular than ever! Whether you’re looking to create simple shark pixel art for a boss in a mobile game or perhaps you just want to share a cute pixel art shark to your social feed this pixel art tutorial will help you make a pixel shark quick and easy.

How to Make a Pixel Art Shark

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

  1. Select a Pixel Art Software such as Adobe Photoshop, Mega Voxels or Aseprite
  2. Create a 32×32 pixel grid for your pixel art shark
  3. Sketch out an Outline for the shape of the shark
  4. Fill in the color of the pixel art shark
  5. Draw a Shade on the shark 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 shark, 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 shark regardless of what pixel editor software you would like 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 shark, 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 32×32 pixel grid to draw a small pixel art shark. 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 shark. Your shark 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 shark

Sketch an Outline for the Shark

Next we will start by drawing the outline for the shark 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 shark grid similar to a spreadsheet

Fill in the Color

Now that you have your outline for your shark, we will add some color to make it stand out. Fill in the entire main section of the shark with a blue gray color (#657196). This blue gray will give our tiny pixel art shark the traditional shark look and also stand out nicely on backgrounds like deep blue water. For the belly we will use a light gray (#D7D7DF). The teeth will be white (#FFFFFF) and the mouth will be a bright red (#FF2929). Try matching the picture of our 8 bit pixel art shark below.

Simple pixel art shark 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 shark using a single color. To create a shadow color we will start with a darker blue gray based on the blue gray we used on the main section of the shark (#566080). To create a shadow effect, we will draw an outline along the bottom section of the shark to give it a more three dimensional feel. For the belly we will use a darker gray (#BBBBC2).

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

So now that you got the basic idea we will continue adding some depth to our shark to give it a 3D feel. Let’s create a highlight using the same blue gray from the main section, but instead of going darker this time we will go lighter (#8FA0D4). Remember, this doesn’t have to be the exact color as our pixel art. In fact this is an opportunity to make the pixel shark look like your own. In our version we highlighted all the top sides of the shark.

Adding highlights to the 8 bit pixel shark

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

Kawaii pixel art shark on a transparent background

Fill the Background Color

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

Cute Pixel Art shark on Blue Background

Where to Go From Here

Congratulations! You now know how to create your very own pixel art shark. Try designing different species of shark pixel art by changing the main shapes for your shark so that you can make different shark types to create a fun underwater scene.

Bonus: Make a 3D Pixel Art Shark

3D Pixel Art Shark

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