Draw a pixel art brick wall, step by step

By · October 16, 2026

To draw a pixel art brick wall, fill the background with a mortar color, lay out rows of small rectangles with one pixel between them, shift every other row by half a brick, then shade the bottom right of each brick and light the top left. Draw it below on a 32 by 32 canvas.

This sprite is wide. It's easier to draw on a computer, or with your phone turned sideways.

Step 1

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Show the finished step
From my course video: the same piece, drawn on camera, sped up 30 times. Also on our YouTube.

What the wall is made of

A background color for the mortar, the bricks, shading, lighting and a few details. The palette is small: a main tone, two shades, two highlights and the background color. The background comes first, so here the board is already the mortar color.

Step 1: Lay out the bricks

Rows of flat grey-blue bricks on a dark grey background

Each brick is 9 pixels wide and 4 tall. Leave one pixel of mortar between bricks. For the next row, shift the bricks so the left side of each lower brick sits right under the middle of the brick above. If you're not sure, count four pixels from the edge.

In Aseprite I draw one brick with its bevels, then copy and paste it across the row, and copy whole rows down. Much faster than drawing each brick.

Step 2: Shading

The bricks with darker bottom and right edges and dark mortar corners

The light comes from the top left. So the bottom and the right side of every brick are in shade. Then take the darkest tone and put it in the corners where the mortar lines meet. That small touch gives the wall depth.

Step 3: Lighting

The bricks with light top and left edges, forming a bevel

Now the opposite sides: the top and the left edge of each brick get the light tone. Shade on one side, light on the other, and the flat rectangles turn into bevelled bricks.

Step 4: Details

The finished brick wall with a few bright pixels on the top edges

The details are just one more layer of light: sprinkle a few pixels of the lightest color on the top bevels. It's good practice to keep shading and highlights on their own layers, so you can tweak them later.

Your turn: sand bricks

The same brick wall in warm sandy colors

Same wall, new palette. That's the point of this challenge: reuse a sprite you already have, change the colors, tweak a few details, and you get a completely new one. Want more? Add some cracks like on the rocks, or push the highlights and shading further.