Draw pixel art ground for a platformer, step by step

By · October 16, 2026

To draw ground for a side view or platformer game, outline a simple block, fill it with a brown mid-tone, add one dark line under the top edge, and light the top with three highlight colors, since the sun is above. It's one of the quickest sprites there is. Draw it below.

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

Step 1

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From my course video: the same piece, drawn on camera, sped up 31 times.

How the ground is built

Look at the structure first. There's the top of the ground, which is lit. Under it there's a thin shadow, because the top sticks out a little. And then the body, with a bit of texture. The ground uses five colors: a mid-tone, one shade and three highlights. Grass, if you want it, gets its own greens.

Step 1: Outline

Black outline of a ground block with a slightly wider top

Really nothing to it. Start at the level where the ground should be, draw a 15 pixel line, go one pixel down, one pixel in on a diagonal, then straight down, and close the shape. Draw it on its own layer.

Step 2: Color

The ground block filled with a flat brown color

Fill the block with the brown mid-tone and recolor the outline the same.

Step 3: Shading

The ground with a dark line under the top edge and a few dark specks

All you need is one line of the dark color right under the top edge. It shows that the top sticks out. Then sprinkle a few dark pixels into the body for texture.

Step 4: Highlights

The ground with a light orange and cream top

The light comes from the top, so the top of the ground gets the highlights. Fill it with the darkest of the three highlight colors, add a line of the second one, and finish with a few pixels of the lightest. I leave three pixels, light the fourth, then do three more. Those little details give the ground a crisp look.

Add grass

The same ground block with green grass on top

Here's a small challenge. Use the greens to put grass on the top, with its own highlights and a bit of shading. Draw the grass on a separate layer. Then you can switch it on and off and get two ground styles from one sprite.

Build a scene

A small side view scene with grassy ground on both sides of the water and clouds in the sky

Copy the ground, paste it, and flip it horizontally (Shift+H in Aseprite) for the other side. Then move a few highlights so the two pieces don't look like copies. Once you know the basic structure, you can make any variation: a floating platform, a ledge, a block with the corners cut off. Add the cloudsand you have a little level.