How to Draw a 16×16 Crescent Steel Sickle in Pixel Art
This sickle is built around empty space. The outer blade forms a broad crescent from the top cap to the lower heel, while a smaller inner hook curls back from the right. The transparent pocket between those arcs is as important as any coloured pixel: filling it would turn the sickle into a heavy disk.
The exact CC0 reference contains 104 visible pixels and 10 visible
colours. We will draw it in six stages. Coordinates use (x, y), starting at
the top-left.
Explore the complete drawing history
Move through the saved states before drawing. Turn on Show changes to see the outer edge, charcoal back, inner hook, collar, and handle as separate decisions.
Step 1: block the crescent blade in blue steel
Start with a four-pixel black cap across x4–7 on row 0. Expand down-left:
- Row 1: black x3 and x7; metal x4–6.
- Row 2: black x2 and x6; metal x3–5.
- Row 3: black x1 and x5; metal x2–4.
- Rows 4–5: keep black at x1 and x5, with metal x2–4.
- Row 6: black x1 and x6; metal x2–5.
Now introduce the inner hook. Put a black cap at x8–9 on row 4. Row 5 uses black x8 and x10 with metal x9. Row 6 uses black x8 and x11 with metal x9–10.
Join both arcs below:
- Row 7: outer black x1 and x7–9; metal x2–6; inner metal x10–11; black x12.
- Row 8: black x2 and x12; fill metal x3–11.
- Row 9: black x3; fill metal x4–10; the collar begins at x11–12.
- Row 10: black x4–6; metal x7–9.
Fill all 48 metal cells with blue steel #608888. Keep the cells between the
outer arc and the inner cap transparent on rows 4–6. Those gaps establish the
hollow crescent before any shading appears.
Step 2: grade the outer cutting edge
Place light steel #CEECEC at (2,6), (2,7), (3,7), (3,8), (4,8),
and (4,9). These six cells trace the lower-left cutting arc.
Use steel shadow #83A3A3 at (4,1), (3,2), (2,3), (7,9), and (8,10).
The first three cells soften the upper cap; the last two turn the edge into the
blade heel.
Keep base steel #A5C9C9 at (2,4), (2,5), (5,9), and (6,9). The two
base pairs separate the pale edge from darker metal without creating a noisy
gradient.
Step 3: build the charcoal crescent back
Place charcoal steel #2F4049 at (4,2), (5,2), (3,3), (4,3), (3,4), (10,7), (8,8), (9,8), (10,8), (8,9), (9,9), and (10,9).
The first five cells define the upper back of the outer crescent. The remaining seven form a dark block where the inner hook rejoins the blade root. Keeping these groups separated by lighter metal makes the crescent feel curved rather than uniformly outlined.
Step 4: shape the blue-and-deep inner hook
Use deep steel #476367 at (4,4), (3,5), (4,5), (5,6), (9,6), (6,7), (6,8), and (7,8).
Leave blue steel at (5,1), (6,1), (9,5), (3,6), (4,6), (10,6), (4,7), (5,7), (11,7), (5,8), (11,8), (7,10), and (9,10).
Deep steel hugs the inside bend; blue steel links it to both the outer blade and the heel. Do not paint the transparent pocket between x6–7 and x8–9 on rows 4–6. The hook is defined by wrapping around that empty area.
Step 5: reinforce the blade collar
Place copper #C07F3A at (11,9) and black at (12,9). Row 10 uses amber #E0993C at x10, dark leather #7E4E26 at x11, and black at x12.
On row 11, draw black x7–9, leather x10, and black x11. This wide black ledge locks the large crescent to the much smaller handle. It also prevents the metal heel at x7–9 on row 10 from blending into the grip.
Step 6: finish the compact amber handle
Row 12 contains black x10, amber x11, and black x12. Row 13 uses black x11, amber x12, and black x13–14.
On row 14, place black x12, copper x13, and black x14. Finish with a black three-pixel pommel across x12–14 on row 15.
The handle has only three coloured cells. Its restrained size keeps the large crescent blade dominant and gives the curved silhouette a clear endpoint.
Exact row blueprint
| Row | Final non-transparent pixels |
|---|---|
| 0 | x4–7 outline |
| 1 | x3 outline, x4 shadow steel, x5–6 blue steel, x7 outline |
| 2 | x2 outline, x3 shadow steel, x4–5 charcoal, x6 outline |
| 3 | x1 outline, x2 shadow steel, x3–4 charcoal, x5 outline |
| 4 | x1 outline, x2 base steel, x3 charcoal, x4 deep steel, x5 outline; x8–9 outline |
| 5 | x1 outline, x2 base steel, x3–4 deep steel, x5 outline; x8 outline, x9 blue steel, x10 outline |
| 6 | x1 outline, x2 light steel, x3–4 blue steel, x5 deep steel, x6 outline; x8 outline, x9 deep steel, x10 blue steel, x11 outline |
| 7 | x1 outline, x2–3 light steel, x4–5 blue steel, x6 deep steel, x7–9 outline, x10 charcoal, x11 blue steel, x12 outline |
| 8 | x2 outline, x3–4 light steel, x5 blue steel, x6–7 deep steel, x8–10 charcoal, x11 blue steel, x12 outline |
| 9 | x3 outline, x4 light steel, x5–6 base steel, x7 shadow steel, x8–10 charcoal, x11 copper, x12 outline |
| 10 | x4–6 outline, x7 blue steel, x8 shadow steel, x9 blue steel, x10 amber, x11 leather, x12 outline |
| 11 | x7–9 outline, x10 leather, x11 outline |
| 12 | x10 outline, x11 amber, x12 outline |
| 13 | x11 outline, x12 amber, x13–14 outline |
| 14 | x12 outline, x13 copper, x14 outline |
| 15 | x12–14 outline |
Watch the crescent close around empty space
The automatic player reveals the full silhouette first, then grades the outer edge, darkens the back, and shapes the inner hook. The collar and handle appear only after the hollow blade is readable.
Automatic drawing
Start with an empty 16×16 canvas
Draw the sickle yourself
Outline both arcs before filling any metal. Use Diff to check the transparent centre after every blade pass; accidental pixels there destroy the crescent. Add the short handle only after both arcs match.
Draw the crescent steel sickle yourself
Rebuild all 104 visible pixels. Use Diff view to check the transparent centre and both concentric blade arcs.
What this sprite teaches
- Negative space can define the weapon class. The hollow centre makes the blade a sickle.
- Treat two arcs independently before joining them. Outer edge and inner hook need different rhythms.
- Group values by curved surface. Pale steel follows the cutting arc while charcoal anchors the back.
- Use deep steel around tight bends. Dark inner cells make the hook turn convincingly.
- Keep the handle subordinate. A compact grip preserves the crescent as the focal shape.
The source sprite is by Shade and is released under CC0 on OpenGameArt. The finished tutorial frame matches every source cell exactly.