In this pixel art tutorial you will learn how to create a pixel art cow! We will go over the different steps it takes to make your very own cow pixel art!

Are you ready to design your own pixel art cow? Learning how to draw a cute pixel art cow is more popular than ever! Whether you’re looking to create a simple pixel art cow sprite for your farm game or maybe you just want to share a fresh new pixel art cow graphic as part of your barnyard collection on social media, this pixel art tutorial will help you make a pixel cow fast and easy.

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How to Make a Pixel Art Cow

These are the basic steps for how to make a pixel art cow:

1. Select a Pixel Art Software such as Adobe Photoshop, Mega Voxels or Aseprite
2. Create a 32×32 pixel grid
3. Sketch out an Outline for the shape of the cow
4. Fill in the color of the pixel art cow
5. Draw a Shade on the cow to create depth
6. Fill in the Background with Color

Now that you are familiar with the basic steps on how to create a pixel art cow, we will cover each step visually so that you can follow along on how to create it.

If you are completely new to pixel art we recommend reading our post How to Create Pixel Art: Beginner’s Tutorial

Select a Pixel Art Software

In this beginner tutorial we will be showing you the steps to design your own pixel art cow using a pixel editor software. Before we begin you will need to know how to create a grid and use the pencil tool in Mega Voxels. Once you create your pixel art cow, you can use the pixel art in other games such as Minecraft or software such as the Unity Game Engine. In this tutorial we will be using the Mega Voxels Pixel Editor. We offer tutorials on how to use the Mega Voxels Pixel Art editor below:

• Photoshop Tutorials
• Aseprite Tutorials
• Mega Voxels Pixel Art Tutorials
• Illustrator Tutorials

Want to see what pixel art software is best for you? Read our post Top Free Pixel Art Software

Create a Grid

To begin we will be using a simple 32×32 pixel grid to draw a small pixel art cow. Making 32×32 pixel art is a common size when making pixel art, especially for projects like video games. Be sure that your canvas is set to the color White (#FFFFFF). This will be our canvas that we use to draw our pixel art cow on. Your cow pixel art grid should have a canvas, also known as a spreadsheet, that looks something similar to this::

Sketch an Outline for the Cow

Next we will start by making the outline for the cow so we can get the overall shape for our pixel cow. To do this choose the color Black (#000000) and activate the pencil tool in your editor. Since this determines the overall shape, feel free to adjust the outline to what match your game or art project. As a guide, you can use the outline we made below for your cow or like we mentioned before feel free to design your own.

Fill in the Color

Now that you made an outline for your pixel art cow, we will add some color to make it stand out. Fill in the main top of the cow a white gray color (#E8E8E8). Next we will create some white spots which are common on cows (#262626). On the other parts of the cow we will use a pink color (#F5948F). Try matching our picture of our 8 bit pixel art cow below.

Draw the Shading

So whenever you create pixel art there are essentially two parts to shading: the highlights and the shadows. We will start with the shadows. We will be applying a shadow to our 32×32 pixel art cow using a single color. This color will be applied to the bottom of the cow top and and the bottom of the cow base. Remember, to create a shadow color for the cow we will use a darker gray based on the color we used before (#C7C7C7). Try to match where we put the shadows in the image below.

So now that you got the basic idea we will continue adding some depth to our cow to give it a 3D feel. Let’s create a highlight using the same white gray from the top, but instead of going darker this time we will go lighter (#FFFFFF). Remember, this doesn’t have to be the exact color in fact this is an opportunity to make the cow look like your own. In our version we only highlighted the top section of the cow. Use our image as a guide for your cow.

Great! When you are happy with your shadows and highlights on your cow, be sure to view your final image. To see your pixel art cow go ahead and turn off the grid lines to make sure you like the way the cow came out.

Fill the Background Color

Finally, let’s change the background color of our cow sprite to really make our cow stand out nicely. Select the Bucket fill tool in your editor. For the color enter a very Light Blue (#BCEAFE). Then simply click on the white area outside of the pixel cow.

Where to Go From Here

Congratulations! You now know how to create your very own pixel art cow. Try making different colors of cows to make your own barnyard scene.

Bonus: Make a 3D Pixel Art Cow

Now that you have drawn your own pixel art cow, you can turn it 3D with Mega Voxels. Mega Voxels contains a 3D Pixel Art Maker that allows you to convert traditional 2D pixels into 3D pixels. Simply download the free Mega Voxels app for iOS or Android.

Then import the pixel art you just made using the Add File button inside of the My Gallery page. And that’s it! Mega Voxels automatically transforms you pixel art cow into a 3D pixel art cow. You can now create 3D turntable videos of your 3D pixel art cow and even view your cow in Augmented Reality!