Pixel art

Before you begin

• It’s helpful if you can print enough copies of the ‘Notes and handout’ pack for everyone to see one. Make sure you keep the final page secret – it’s got the answers on!
• If you can, it’s easiest to print the blank grids on page three of the ‘Notes and handout’ pack so everyone has six grids.

Don’t worry if you can’t print the blank grids – you’ll just need to give everyone some time to make their own. Make sure everyone uses a ruler to draw grids 10 squares high by 10 squares wide.

 What’s a pixel?

1. Everyone should think about where they see images on computers and chat with a partner. People may think about on social media, or website logos.
   
2. The person leading the activity should pass around the ‘Notes and handout’ packs.
   
3. The person leading the activity should explain that computer screens are divided into grids of very small dots called pixels (picture elements).
   
4. The person leading the activity should explain that in a black and white picture, like the planet in the handout, each pixel is either black or white. In a colour picture, like the watermelon in the handout, each pixel is a single colour.

How do pixels work?

1. Everyone should find the example letter ‘a’ in their sheet. Hopefully it’s easy to see how it’s made up of small, square, pixels.
   
2. The person leading the activity should explain that each square is labelled with a coordinate – computers understand and represent everything with numbers, so when a picture’s designed for a computer, it needs to be represented in numbers too.
   
3. The person leading the activity should explain that, unlike a map, the grid for the coordinates starts in the top left corner.

This is because computers use the same coordinates as old-fashioned TVs, which displayed images in horizontal lines from top to bottom.

4. The person leading the activity should explain that the x axis goes from left to right, and the y axis from top to bottom. Like a map, coordinates are made up of the x axis number, a comma, and the y axis number.
   
5. Everyone should look at the example letter ‘a’ – they should check that they understand how the coordinates on the right of the letter match the coloured-in squares.

Give it a go

1. Everyone should head to the second page of their handout. They should use the coordinates on the right of each grid to colour in the correct pixels and make a picture.

People can use whichever colour they like – if they’re feeling unsure, they might want to start off using pencil. If you’re short on time, just do one of the images.

2. Once they’ve finished their images, everyone should compare their creations. Does everyone’s look the same? What are the pictures?
   
3. The person leading the activity should show everyone the answer sheet. It’s OK if people have made some mistakes – they’re useful for helping us learn more.

Get creative

1. Everyone should use the blank grids to draw some images of their own.

Why not think about something outdoor themed, for example, an animal, a tree, or a boat.

2. Everyone should get a separate piece of paper and code their images by writing down the coordinates for every coloured-in pixel. They should end up with a list of coordinates, just like the ones they used to ‘Give it a go’.
   
3. Everyone should swap their coordinates with a partner. They should decode each other’s images (without peeking at the original).
   
4. Everyone should compare their images with the originals. Do they match?