How to Make a Supersized Pixel Mario
4 Materials
$10
2 Days
Medium
Relive the days of 8-bit gaming by making a supersized pixel Mario from a couple of 2x4 boards (or four 1x4s). I made a large pixel Mario to hang as geeky room decor in my home, and I have made a tutorial to show you how to do it too.
DIY Giant Pixel Mario
I love it when I can combine woodworking and geeky things. The classic Super Mario Bros was my introduction to video games, and thus 8-bit Mario will always have a special place in heart.
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Click play and watch the video tutorial above for step by step instructions on how to make the giant pixel Mario or hop over to my blog to read the full tutorial.
Squares for Mario pixels
To create Mario, I resawed my 2x4 in half. You can skip this step and just purchase 1x4 boards. Cut 2" squares for each pixel in Mario. I added a 45 degree chamfer to each edge to make the pixels pop out more. This step was where a bulk of the time on the project was spent. It was a tedious step, but in the end I think worth it.
One square for pixel Mario
I wanted to stay as close to the original color pallet as I could. To do this, I used stains instead of paints for coloring Mario. I stained Mario with leftover stains from previous projects. This helped keep the cost of the project low. I used a special walnut for his hair, shirt and shoes and a medium walnut for his flesh. For the hat and overalls, I made a homemade red dye.
To make the dye I needed:
- rubbing alcohol
- red food coloring
I mixed two parts rubbing alcohol with one drop of food coloring.
DIY Pixel Mario
I really like how Mario turned out. I think this project will make an excellent homemade gift for the fellow geek in your life.
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
Frequently asked questions
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