Minecraft Math Halloween Pixel Art

Anybody who knows me will be able to tell you about my love for the game Minecraft. In a previous post, I wrote about how you can use Minecraft to teach finding the area of an object in math. With Halloween right around the corner, I’d like to share another fun STEAM activity with you in today's post… how to use math and technology skills to create Halloween pictures in Minecraft. In the Minecraft community, these types of pictures are called pixel art. But in the classroom, teachers often refer to them as graph art.

Kids practice their geometry and other math skills when they create Halloween pixel art designs in Minecraft. STEM and STEAM activity. Minecraft math.

Disclosure: Affiliate links to Amazon are included in this post.



What is STEAM?

STEAM is an acronym that stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics.  This Halloween Minecraft math activity integrates the Technology, Art, and Mathematics components of STEAM.

What is Pixel Art?

Think back to the early days of video games.  Do you remember how 'blocky' everything looked and how everything looked like they were made from squares?  Games like Pong, Super Mario Brothers, and Donkey Kong were all pixelated... all very blocky.  When children create pixel art in Minecraft, they are using blocks to create an image... a blocky, pixelated image. 

Pixelated Screenshot
Do you see all of the pixels in this screenshot?
  
When students create pixel art in Minecraft, they are practicing a wide variety of skills.  These skills include:
  • color recognition
  • counting
  • patterning
  • geometry
  • graphing and grids
  • problem-solving
  • following directions
  • fine motor skills
  • visual-spatial awareness
  • eye-hand coordination
  • using technology
  • maintaining focus and concentration
  • critical thinking skills

When creating pixel art in Minecraft, students can either create their own designs on graph paper or use a premade Perler bead pattern they like.  I used a Perler bead pattern for all of my pixel art designs in today's post.  (Thank you, Kandi Patterns!)



Small Pumpkin Pixel Art

This small Halloween pumpkin was very easy to make and is ideal for beginners.  It is 9 columns wide x 9 rows tall.  To make this pumpkin pixel art, your students will need 88 pieces of orange wool, 26 pieces of white wool, seven pieces of black wool, three pieces of brown wool, and one piece of green wool.*


Pumpkin Perler Pattern

Halloween Pumpkin Pixel Art Minecraft
Halloween Pumpkin Pixel Art Minecraft



Black Cat and Pumpkin Pixel Art

This black cat and pumpkin pixel art is a bit more challenging and requires a bit more concentration.  It is 14 columns wide x 14 rows tall. Your students will need 96 pieces of black wool, 53 pieces of white wool, 40 pieces of orange wool, six pieces of green wool, and one piece of pink wool.*

Halloween Black Cat and Pumpkin Perler Pattern

Halloween Pumpkin and Black Cat Pixel Art Minecraft
Halloween Pumpkin and Black Cat Pixel Art Minecraft



Candy Bucket Pixel Art

Don't let the simplicity of this Halloween candy bucket fool you. It is 19 columns wide and 21 rows tall. Your students will need 188 orange pieces of wool, 117 white pieces of wool, 65 black pieces of wool, seven brown pieces of wool, four red and white pieces of wool, two green and blue pieces of wool, one yellow and purple piece of wool.* 

Halloween Candy Bucket Perler Pattern

 After creating this candy bucket pixel art horizontally on the ground, I wasn't up for making a second one! If you or your students feel ambitious and want to try making a vertical candy bucket... go for it... and let me know how it goes!

Halloween Candy Bucket Pixel Art Minecraft

*Wool in Minecraft can be harvested from the sheep and dyed in survival mode or found in the crafting menu in creative mode.  If time is an issue, I'd suggest using creative mode in class.



Happy Halloween

Did you enjoy reading about this Halloween pixel art activity? If so, check out these posts for more Minecraft and Halloween ideas:


search words: math, maths, mathematics, STEM, technology, Minecraft, graph art, grid art

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