How to Draw a 16×16 Curved Steel Saber in Pixel Art
This saber begins almost vertically near the top-left, stays narrow for two rows, then bends and widens toward the lower-right. A bright inner edge marks the cutting curve, while darker steel collects on the outer back and at the blade root. The hilt is unusually broad, built from leather, gold, and amber rather than a thin crossguard.
The exact CC0 reference contains 78 visible pixels and 10 visible
colours. We will draw it in five stages. Coordinates use (x, y), starting
at the top-left.
Explore the complete drawing history
Move through the saved frames before drawing. Use Show changes to compare the curved blade passes with the broad collar and wrapped handle.
Step 1: block the curved blade in one steel value
Place black at (3,0) and (4,0) for the short clipped tip. Rows 1 and 2 are
identical: black at x2 and x4, base steel #A5C9C9 at x3. Repeating the same
column makes the tip feel nearly vertical.
Begin the bend:
- Row 3: black x2 and x5; steel x3–4.
- Row 4: black x2 and x5; steel x3–4.
- Row 5: black x2 and x6; steel x3–5.
- Row 6: black x2 and x7; steel x3–6.
- Row 7: black x3 and x8; steel x4–7.
- Row 8: black x4 and x9; steel x5–8.
- Row 9: black x5–6; steel x7–9. The warm collar will close the right side.
- Row 10: black x7; steel x8.
Fill all 25 metal cells with base steel. Notice how the left outline stays at x2 through row 6 while the right outline moves from x4 to x7. That unequal growth creates the curve before any shading is added.
Step 2: light the hooked cutting edge
Place light steel #CEECEC at (3,3), (4,7), (5,8), and (6,8).
Use the brighter shine #F4FEFE at (3,4), (3,5), and (4,6). The three
shine cells trace the tightest part of the inner curve, then the two light cells
on row 8 widen the reflection near the blade root.
The highlight is deliberately discontinuous. A solid pale line from tip to hilt would straighten the blade visually; these separated groups preserve the change in direction.
Step 3: carve the dark back and blade root
Keep base steel at (3,1), (3,2), (3,6), (5,7), and (7,9).
Place charcoal steel #2F4049 at (4,3), (4,4), (8,9), and (9,9).
Add deep steel #476367 at (4,5), (5,5), (7,8), and (8,8).
Finish the turn into the hilt with blue steel #608888 at (5,6), (6,6), (6,7), (7,7), and (8,10).
The dark back is split into an upper charcoal pair, a deep-steel middle pair, and a lower charcoal root. Blue steel bridges those groups, preventing the curved blade from looking like separate metal fragments.
Step 4: build the broad amber-and-gold collar
Start with black at x10–11 on row 8. Row 9 adds amber #E0993C at x10 and
black at x11. On row 10, place gold #FBBD5D at x9, dark leather #7E4E26 at
x10, and black at x11.
Row 11 is the widest part: black x7, amber x8, leather x9, gold x10, leather x11, and black x12. Close the lower side on row 12 with black x7–9.
This is not a conventional straight guard. It is a broad collar wrapped around the blade root. The alternating warm materials make the joint feel reinforced without adding more outline thickness.
Step 5: finish the wrapped leather handle
Continue row 12 with leather x10, gold x11, leather x12, and black x13.
On row 13, place black x10, leather x11, gold x12, leather x13, and black x14. Row 14 uses black x11, leather x12, amber x13, and black x14. Finish with black across x12–14 on row 15.
The gold stripe shifts one cell right on each row, creating a wrapped-handle pattern. Amber replaces gold near the pommel so the end remains distinct from the central wrap.
Exact row blueprint
| Row | Final non-transparent pixels |
|---|---|
| 0 | x3–4 outline |
| 1 | x2 outline, x3 base steel, x4 outline |
| 2 | x2 outline, x3 base steel, x4 outline |
| 3 | x2 outline, x3 light steel, x4 charcoal, x5 outline |
| 4 | x2 outline, x3 shine, x4 charcoal, x5 outline |
| 5 | x2 outline, x3 shine, x4–5 deep steel, x6 outline |
| 6 | x2 outline, x3 base steel, x4 shine, x5–6 blue steel, x7 outline |
| 7 | x3 outline, x4 light steel, x5 base steel, x6–7 blue steel, x8 outline |
| 8 | x4 outline, x5–6 light steel, x7–8 deep steel, x9–11 outline |
| 9 | x5–6 outline, x7 base steel, x8–9 charcoal, x10 amber, x11 outline |
| 10 | x7 outline, x8 blue steel, x9 gold, x10 leather, x11 outline |
| 11 | x7 outline, x8 amber, x9 leather, x10 gold, x11 leather, x12 outline |
| 12 | x7–9 outline, x10 leather, x11 gold, x12 leather, x13 outline |
| 13 | x10 outline, x11 leather, x12 gold, x13 leather, x14 outline |
| 14 | x11 outline, x12 leather, x13 amber, x14 outline |
| 15 | x12–14 outline |
Watch the blade turn into the handle
The automatic player first reveals the changing blade width, then adds the inner-edge light and dark back. The broad collar appears as its own pass before the final wrapped grip.
Automatic drawing
Start with an empty 16×16 canvas
Draw the saber yourself
Build the unshaded curve first and check the repeated x2 left edge. After shading, use Diff around rows 5–9 where the blade widens and turns. Add the collar and handle only when the steel shape reads clearly.
Draw the curved steel saber yourself
Rebuild all 78 visible pixels. Use Diff view to check the blade's changing direction and the wide hilt pattern.
What this sprite teaches
- Curves come from unequal edge movement. One outline can pause while the opposite edge keeps expanding.
- Highlight the inside of a hook selectively. Short bright groups preserve the bend better than one continuous stripe.
- Use dark groups to define the back. Charcoal and deep steel anchor the outside curve.
- A collar can replace a crossguard. Broad warm material blocks make the blade-to-handle transition readable.
- Shift one accent through the grip. A moving gold stripe suggests wrapped construction.
The source sprite is by Shade and is released under CC0 on OpenGameArt. The finished tutorial frame matches every source cell exactly.