With this easy pixel art tutorial you will learn how to make your own heart pixel art! Together we will show you a simple set of steps to create your own pixel art heart using pixels!

Hi fellow pixel artist! Are you excited to draw your own heart pixel art? Sometimes you just need some small heart pixel art for a lives in a video game or even a cute pixel art heart for your new profile image on your favorite social network. No matter if you’re a beginner or pro, this easy pixel art tutorial will help you make your own heart pixel art. We will begin by going over some basic steps to creating a pixel art heart.

How to Make Heart Pixel Art

These are the basic steps for how to make heart pixel art in a pixel art editor:

1. Choose a Pixel Art Software such as Aseprite, Adobe Photoshop or Pixel Fun Draw
2. Make a pixel art grid in the editor to draw your heart pixel art
3. Draw the shape of your pixel art heart by creating an outline
4. Add color to your heart pixel art using the bucket fill and pencil tool
5. Create a Shadow and Highlight to give depth to your pixel art heart

These are the main steps to create heart pixel art. Next we will go over the basic steps with pictures you can follow to learn how to create a pixel art heart.

Choose a Pixel Art Software

For this pixel art tutorial we will be going over the basic steps to create your own heart pixel art. However you can choose the pixel editor software you would like to use. Before we start you will need to know some basic functions in the editor you prefer such as how to create a grid and how to use the pencil tool. We recommend some of the following pixel art editor’s as they have many tutorials on how to perform basic tasks.

• Aseprite
• Adobe Photoshop
• Pixel Fun Draw

Make a Pixel Art Grid

For starters we will be creating a grid for our pixel art. For this tutorial we will use a standard 32×32 pixel art grid to create heart pixel art. Since we are making an 8 bit pixel art heart and we would like to use this for projects like video games we will stick with this common standard. To begin set the color of the canvas to White (#FFFFFF). This canvas will be used to draw our heart pixel art. Make sure your canvas looks something similar to this:

Draw an Outline for the Pixel Art Heart

Next we will draw the basic shape of our pixel heart by creating an outline. We will do this by choosing the color Black (#000000. Once set, activate the pencil tool in your pixel editor. Since this will determine how the heart will look and establish the shape, feel free to modify the outline to match your project. As a helpful tip, you can use the outline we made below as a guide or feel free to make your own.

Add Color to Heart

With the outline for our pixel art star complete, we will now move onto to adding some color. Using the bucket fill tool color the entire main section of the pixel heart with a red(#DE2826). The color red will give our cute pixel art heart a bright appeal especially on light backgrounds. We will also add a secondary red to make the heart appear like it is shining (#FE2E2B).

Create Shadows and Highlights for Pixel Art Heart

Now to give our heart pixel art some depth. When working with shading in pixel art there are essentially two parts: the shadow color and the highlight color. For simplicity we will begin by coloring the shadows onto our pixel art heart. To create a shadow color we will start with a darker red based on the red we used on the main section of the heart (#BF2422). To create the effect of a shadow on our heart, we will draw along the bottom portion of the pixel heart to give it a more three dimensional feel. Perform the same technique on the sides of the heart too.

Our pixel art heart is now beginning to pop-out. Next we will continue to add some depth to our heart pixel art. Create a highlight using the same red from the main section, but instead of going darker, go lighter (#FF615B). Now even though we chose this color, yours doesn’t have to be the exact same color. As a matter of fact this is a chance to make the pixel art heart look unique. For our pixel art heart we highlighted all the top of the heart.

Preview your Pixel Art Heart

Now that is some great heart pixel art! When you like the way the shadows and highlights appear on your pixel heart, it is time to preview the final image. Go ahead and turn off the grid lines so you can see your pixel art heart to make sure you like the way the heart looks.

Where to Go From Here

Well done! You now know how to make your own heart pixel art. From here there are many designs you can try out. For example making different colored pixel art hearts to create a colorful card, or adding an icon for lives to a game.

For more ideas visit our Pixel Art Tutorials to learn how to make other pixel art easy!