Activity of the Week: Pixel Portraits

Pixel art goes all the way back to the 1970s, and is making a comeback in video games, illustration, coloring books, even makeup. Pictures are constructed from pixels, like a digital mosaic. Using blocks in Minecraft, players can create images or characters too. Capture your students’ enthusiasm for video games (or selfies!) with this week’s build challenge.

First, review examples of pixel art in Minecraft and classic video games. Next, use a laptop or phone camera to have students take a selfie. Share the provided world with your students and have them transform the selfie into a 16×16 or 32×32 pixel portrait. Put all the pictures together and create a class portrait to hang up in the classroom, or a digital yearbook for the end of the school year.