How to Draw a 16×16 Triple-Blade Steel Polearm in Pixel Art
This polearm packs three separate steel prongs into a 16×16 canvas. Two tips begin on the top row; a third starts one row lower at the right. Their paths interlock across a wide head before narrowing abruptly into a five-cell warm shaft.
The exact CC0 reference contains 124 visible pixels and 8 visible
colours. We will construct it in six stages. Coordinates use (x, y) from
the top-left.
Explore the complete drawing history
The saved frames reveal the head’s structure before colour makes it dense. Use Show changes to isolate the three prongs, internal steel planes, and the small shaft at the bottom-right.
Step 1: outline three blade tips, the broad head, and shaft
Draw black at x0–1 and x5–6 on row 0 for the first two tips. Start the third tip at x11–12 on row 1. The one-row offset keeps all three blades visible instead of forming a uniform comb.
Carry the left and centre prongs diagonally through rows 1–4. Bring the right prong down-left from rows 2–3. Across rows 4–11, use black not only around the outer silhouette but also between steel regions. These internal dividers show which blade passes above another.
On row 10, begin paired diagonal rails around the shaft. Continue them through row 14 and close the foot with black at x14–15 on row 15. The outline stage contains 74 black cells.
Step 2: block nine base-steel anchor cells
Use base steel #A5C9C9 at:
(1,1), (6,1), (2,2), (11,2), (1,5), (11,7), (9,9), (2,10), (7,11)
The first four cells seat the three tips. The remaining five anchors mark the lower edges of different overlapping blade sections. Do not connect them yet; the light-steel stage will supply the visible cutting planes.
Step 3: add twenty light-steel cutting planes
Place light steel #CEECEC through each prong and across the central head.
Rows 3–9 contain most of these cells, alternating with black separators and
dark steel.
The brightest cells should form several short runs rather than one continuous patch. This broken rhythm makes three crossing blades readable inside a head that is almost twelve pixels wide.
Step 4: cut sixteen deep facets into the head
Add eight deep-steel cells #476367 on visible turning planes. Add eight
charcoal-steel cells #2F4049 in tighter recesses and undersides.
Deep steel remains part of the blade surface; charcoal represents the places where one section passes beneath another. Check rows 7–9 carefully—the repeated light, deep, and charcoal sequence is what separates the central overlap from the right-hand blade root.
Step 5: mark the amber lower collar and copper foot
Place amber #E0993C at (13,13). Then place copper #C07F3A at (14,14).
The surrounding black rails are already present, so these two pixels define
the shaft’s lower transition and foot before its gold centre is filled.
Step 6: finish the three-cell golden shaft core
Add gold #FBBD5D at (10,10), (11,11), and (12,12). The complete warm
core reads:
gold → gold → gold → amber → copper
The shaft begins directly with gold at the head; there is no upper amber collar. Keep all five cells on the main diagonal between their black rails.
Exact row blueprint
| Rows | Main construction |
|---|---|
| 0 | two black tip pairs at x0–1 and x5–6 |
| 1 | two filled tips plus the third black tip at x11–12 |
| 2–3 | three descending prongs with separate steel planes |
| 4–6 | left and centre overlap joins the right blade root |
| 7–9 | widest interlocked head with dense internal dividers |
| 10–12 | lower steel anchors plus three-cell gold shaft |
| 13 | amber lower collar |
| 14 | copper foot core |
| 15 | two-pixel black end cap |
Watch three prongs merge into one head
The automatic player establishes every boundary first, places base anchors, adds the twenty bright cutting cells, cuts both dark facet layers, and finishes the five-cell warm shaft.
Automatic drawing
Start with an empty 16×16 canvas
Draw the polearm yourself
Finish each tip before filling the broad centre. Switch to Diff while adding internal black cells; then complete the shaft from its amber and copper end back toward the head.
Draw the triple-blade steel polearm yourself
Rebuild all 124 visible pixels. Use Diff view to preserve three separate tips, internal black dividers, and the narrow warm shaft.
What this sprite teaches
- Offset beginnings keep repeated forms distinct. The third tip starts one row lower.
- Internal outlines can describe overlap. Black cells divide three blades inside one silhouette.
- Short highlight runs read as separate cutting planes. Twenty pale cells never become one flat block.
- Two shadow depths organize a crowded head. Deep and charcoal steel distinguish surfaces from recesses.
- A tiny shaft can support a large head. Five warm cells provide a clear directional exit.
The source sprite is by Shade and is released under CC0 on OpenGameArt. The finished tutorial frame matches every source cell exactly.