Free tool
Create your Pixel Art
Draw on the grid, then download a PDF worksheet with coordinates: the coloured pixel art to show, plus a blank grid for children to reproduce. Perfect for introducing coding and computational thinking in class.
Pick a colour below and draw on the grid.
The drawing is stored in the link itself, no account needed. It's a snapshot: if you edit the worksheet, copy a new link.
Ready-to-print pixel art templates
Free templates (heart, cat, star, Christmas tree…) you load with one click and turn into a printable PDF worksheet with coordinates. No sign-up.
How to use it in class
1. Draw
Pick a colour and click the cells to compose your image. Turn on coordinates to see letters and numbers.
2. Generate the PDF worksheet
One click downloads a print-ready A4 worksheet: the coloured pixel art and a blank grid to reproduce.
3. Play with coding
Children reproduce the image by following the coordinates (B2, C3…): a real computational-thinking exercise, even without a computer.
Want a pixel art & coding workshop at your school?
I run workshops and teacher training across Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia and online across Italy and internationally.
How to use the maker
Pixel Art Maker is a free tool, with no sign-up, designed for early years and primary teachers. It turns a drawing on a grid into a printable coding worksheet, with coordinates for the children and a solution page for the teacher.
Seven activity types
Binary code
For early years. Every square shows 1 or 0: children colour the 1s black and discover the picture. It introduces the idea that computers also remember pictures with lots of 1s and 0s.
Read the code
The next step after binary code: the grid is empty and each row has its code beside it, for example 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0. The child reads and colours with no picture to copy. Binary code also has a two-level version on the same page.
Copy the picture
For early years. The model is on the left and an empty grid of the same size on the right, on a landscape page with 1 cm squares. A symbol at the start of each row, the same in both grids, helps find the right row.
Reproduce
The worksheet has the coloured model, an empty grid with the colour code and a solution page. Children read coordinates such as B3 or D5 and colour the right squares: their first exercise in reading a code, the same way a robot moves on a grid.
Colour by number
Each colour becomes a number and the key says which colour to use. It also works printed in black and white, thanks to the colour names.
Symmetry
Children see half of the drawing and complete the other half as a mirror image across the axis. It trains spatial orientation and reasoning about rules, two foundations of computational thinking.
Debug
The worksheet shows the correct model and a copy with a few mistakes: children must find and fix them. It introduces the idea of debugging, finding and fixing the error in a program.
Difficulty levels and ages
- Easy: ages 3-5, early years
- 10×10 grid with large 1 cm squares and simple drawings, suited to early years.
- Medium: ages 5-7, reception and Year 1
- 16×16 grid and more detailed drawings, for the last year of early years and the first primary classes.
- Hard: ages 7+, Year 2 and up
- 24×24 grid with small squares and rich drawings, for primary school.
Ideas for the classroom
- Coordinate dictation in pairs: one child reads the coordinates, the other colours, then they swap.
- The child programmer: each child draws their own pixel art and writes the code for a classmate.
- From paper to floor: the same grid made with tape on the floor, with children moving across the squares.
- Bug hunt: the Debug worksheet in small groups, with a timer and points.
- Seasonal activities: themed templates for Christmas, Carnival and peace days.
Pixel art templates and tools
Ready-made drawings to print or to turn into a coordinates worksheet.