[This is a W.I.P.]
About
Perler Art, also known as bead art or beadsprites, is a form of pixel art that utilizes beads produced by Perler or a competitor company to produce replica images. Due to the relative ease of production, the art medium has grown a large fanbase which has created many works based on The Legend of Zelda, Pokémon, My Little Pony, and many other brands or nostalgic items.
Origin
Though the actual perler medium used today dates back to the creation of the Perler brand, bead art itself is a form of beadwork which dates back to before 3100 B.C. and has been found in many cultures including the early Egyptians, Native Americans, and throughout much of Europe.[1]
Spread
The subreddit /r/beadsprites was created January 11, 2011, and currently has just over 10,000 subscribers.[2] The Facebook group “Perler Bead Sprites” was created April 14, 2010, and currently has 15,744 likes.[3] The Perler company joined Pinterest in 2013 and has since gained 1,463 followers.[4] The DeviantART group “Perler-Beads” was founded Dec 23, 2009, and currently has 1,409 watchers.[5] Their gallery features many submissions which are broken down into categories such as cartoons, games, movies, and jewelry.
Notable Examples
Search Interest
External Links
[2]Reddit – /r/beadsprites
[3]Facebook – Perler Bead Sprites
[4]Pinterest – Perler Beads
[5]DeviantART – Perler Beads
[5]Facebook – Pixel Art Creations