LoopyPickleHead

LoopyPickleHead

@loopypicklehead.bsky.social

I've been doing Mario Paint art recently. Imagine a world where I learned to do something useful. https://www.twitch.tv/loopypicklehead

92 followers24 following171 posts

LoopyPickleHead
@loopypicklehead.bsky.social

baba yaga I'm doing cryptids and fantasy all October! follow along and watch some creepy stuff happen! #mariopaint #pixelart #snes #nintendo #pointillism #cryptids #fantasy #babayaga #creepy #spookyseason #horror

LoopyPickleHead
@loopypicklehead.bsky.social

bombchu girl smoke break Never posted this one. I wasn't satisfied with it back in 2024 because I thought it looked flat. I come back to it now and enjoy it much more. #mariopaint #snes #pixelart #pointillism #nintendo #LoZ #oot #majorasmask #smokebreak #neon

LoopyPickleHead
@loopypicklehead.bsky.social

These last 2 years of relearning and redefining #MarioPaint has been personally uplifting. I didn't come to it with extensive 2D skills. Through studying, I'm a lot more comfortable conveying form, mixing color, and rendering textures. It's very fulfilling to do it in a difficult medium.

LoopyPickleHead@loopypicklehead.bsky.social

3) Contrast. Desaturate the palette and realize that much of what you can mix will make your paintings grainy if not careful. That grain foils any kind of focus we can get. So single-pixel work is crucial to reclaiming that focus. Sometimes it's outlines, other times it's suggestions of outlines.

LoopyPickleHead
@loopypicklehead.bsky.social

3) Contrast. Desaturate the palette and realize that much of what you can mix will make your paintings grainy if not careful. That grain foils any kind of focus we can get. So single-pixel work is crucial to reclaiming that focus. Sometimes it's outlines, other times it's suggestions of outlines.

LoopyPickleHead@loopypicklehead.bsky.social

2) Palette limited to 15 colors. The pixel space is large and "zoomed out", so we can place pixels next to eachother to create the illusion of unavailable colors. This gets hairy because of the subpixel color mixing. Skin tones and purples are the most difficult to get right, but they're possible.

LoopyPickleHead
@loopypicklehead.bsky.social

2) Palette limited to 15 colors. The pixel space is large and "zoomed out", so we can place pixels next to eachother to create the illusion of unavailable colors. This gets hairy because of the subpixel color mixing. Skin tones and purples are the most difficult to get right, but they're possible.

LoopyPickleHead@loopypicklehead.bsky.social

1) The pixel space is very odd. 168 x 248 is just a little too small to get curves that feel continuous. It's also much larger than the traditional 32x32 or 64x64 pixel spaces. Classical pixel art sprites would fill only a fraction of the canvas, and lends to an unconventional pixel art experience.

LoopyPickleHead
@loopypicklehead.bsky.social

1) The pixel space is very odd. 168 x 248 is just a little too small to get curves that feel continuous. It's also much larger than the traditional 32x32 or 64x64 pixel spaces. Classical pixel art sprites would fill only a fraction of the canvas, and lends to an unconventional pixel art experience.

LoopyPickleHead@loopypicklehead.bsky.social

I've found that there are some massive hurdles when it comes to painting in #MarioPaint. Here's what I encountered as major challenges, and how my style mediated them.

LoopyPickleHead reposted

zupiz
@zupiz.bsky.social

Baltimore oriole (𝘐𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘶𝘴 𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘣𝘶𝘭𝘢) 🍊 #avianaugust2026 / day 23 #birds #birdart #illustration #avianaugust

LoopyPickleHead
@loopypicklehead.bsky.social

I'm caught up on my backlog of timelapses! There's still so much to explore in #MarioPaint, and I'm going to continue experimenting. As a result, not every post will have a timelapse. But if you want to watch the process, can find timelapses on my page or follow me on twitch. #snes #retrogames

LoopyPickleHead
@loopypicklehead.bsky.social

komodo dragon this one was a joy to paint i had done many of these paintings in less than 3 hours. i gave myself 6 hours to do this one and figure out some new textures/techniques. #MarioPaint #snes #pixelart #pointillism #speedpaint #art #reptiles #lizard #wildlife

LoopyPickleHead
@loopypicklehead.bsky.social

Red-Bellied Woodpecker Been doing animal paintings in the following order: Reptile → Bird → Aquatic Critter → Insect → Mammal #MarioPaint #snes #speedpaint #birds #pointillism #pixelart #art #timelapse

LoopyPickleHead
@loopypicklehead.bsky.social

Three-Toed Box Turtle I started playing in Mario Paint with silly animal paintings. I'm now doing form studies with animal subjects. #MarioPaint #SNES #pointillism #pixelart #speedpaint #art #turtle #threetoedboxturtle #reptiles

LoopyPickleHead
@loopypicklehead.bsky.social

I took an extended break after finishing the master copies. This was an exercise to knock the rust off and play with colors. We're getting very close to posting my current paintings. Things really start getting interesting soon! #MarioPaint #snes #pointillism #pixelart