Set Up Your Canvas
Give your first character a small, clear space to grow.
Your result
A named 16 × 16 project with a transparent canvas, saved in your Workspace.
01What you will learn
- Choose a canvas that matches the asset, not your screen.
- Tell the pixel grid apart from the transparency checkerboard.
- Save a project you can return to throughout the course.
Start with: No drawing experience needed. Use a browser that allows local storage, and a mouse, trackpad or touch screen.
02See the technique
Your starting canvas
16 × 16 pixels
Where we're heading
16 × 16 pixels
03Follow the steps
- 1
Open your practice canvas
Use the practice button below. It creates a transparent 16 × 16 project with the course palette ready. If you already started, the same button reopens your work.
One empty frame on a 16 × 16 canvas.
- 2
Name it and find the grid
Rename the project in the editor's top bar to My First Slime. Use the grid button to reveal the individual pixels, then zoom until you can comfortably place one square at a time.
A named project and a clearly visible pixel grid.
- 3
Try one pixel, then undo
Choose the pencil and click once inside the canvas. Undo with the toolbar or Ctrl/⌘+Z. The checkerboard should reappear where the pixel was; that tells you the background is still transparent.
A blank canvas, with no white background painted in.
- 4
Save and come back
Use Save & return to lesson in the course bar. This waits for the project to save before leaving the editor. Your project also appears in the Workspace.
Your starting project is ready for lesson two.
04Practice in Pikanim
Create My First Slime, test the pencil and undo, then return with an empty, transparent canvas.
Opens a 16 × 16 canvas with the lesson's starting pixels. Your work saves in the Workspace.
05Check your result
Compare your own work with these checkpoints. Check each one when your result is ready.
Progress saves in this browser. No account needed.
06Continue learning
Keep these references handy
Pixel Art Resolution Guide
How to choose a pixel art canvas size: what 8×8, 16×16, 32×32, 64×64 and 128×128 are each good for, and how resolution shapes the whole workflow.
8×8 vs 16×16 vs 32×32 Pixel Art
A direct comparison of 8×8, 16×16 and 32×32 pixel art: what fits at each size, side-by-side character examples, and when to use each.