You can use a set of evenly-sized beads, tiles, or blocks to create tactile, real-world pixel art of any image. Problem is, not everyone has the imagination or creativity required to convert an image in their heads into blocky pixel art. The Smart Pixelator changes that.
A pixel art creation tool, it can convert any picture into a pixelated image that you can use as reference to create your physical pixel art using the included pegs, beads, or sequins. No more wracking your mind trying to come up with the design by yourself – this thing does the hard mental work all on its own.
The Smart Pixelator consists of a plastic tabletop toy with a 32 x 32 grid of lights in the middle, which can light up in different colors to show any pixelated image, along with a pegboard and 1,300 colored 4mm beads that you can use to recreate that image physically. Place the transparent pegboard on top of the grid and line up correspondingly-colored beads to each light in the grid. The tray is designed to hold the beads in place even while you move them, provided you don’t flip the whole thing over (beads will fall off then). That means, you can safely remove the tray and place it on a display shelf. You can also glue the beads in place, in case you want to make the setup more permanent.
The toy works in conjunction with a companion app (iOS, Android, and Amazon), which can take any image as input and convert it into a pixelated image that can fit in the 32 x 32 grid. The app comes with various customization options that let you experiment with the image, so you can get it to look like any way you prefer. An SD card with 50 preloaded designs are also included, which you can use with the app to get started creating pixel art images as soon as you open the box.
The Smart Pixelator includes a bead applicator to make placing the tiny beads on the pegboard a whole lot easier, along with a single sheet of ironing paper that you can use when ironing the beads to make them stick them together. That’s right, these beads work just like those fusible Perler beads, so they can stick together when subjected to the heat of a clothes iron, allowing you to turn your 2D pixel art into standalone figures. According to the outfit, you can even build 3D figures using the darn things, so you can create your own pixelated figurines of your favorite characters.
Basically, if you’re a fan of Perler beads, you can use this thing to create custom designs, instead of simply downloading available designs on the internet. You will also likely end up buying a whole lot more sets on top of this set, since getting into this thing will make you want to buy more accessories, including more building items (beads, pegs, and sequins), trays, frames (for holding the trays), and stands (for holding the frames upright).
The Smart Pixelator is available now.
- Smart pixels and light-focused technology encourage steam learning and creativity