Updated October 12, 2021.
Videogames of all kinds have such an excellent graphic punch: the bright colors and the uncluttered design.
In the back of my mind, I’ve always wanted to do some needlepoint of them but haven’t. I recently found an excellent Flickr album and a tutorial on how to do this yourself.
First, the album. It has almost 40 pictures of videogame needlepoint. A simple mushroom from the classic Centipede, that uses textured stitches effectively is a great example of the simple graphic style of earlier games. This elaborate design of King Galam, done in Tent Stitch, shows the more realistic style of Manga-influenced games.
I love the look of them.
If you want to adapt your own favorite video game characters to needlepoint, a process called “sprite stitching,” take a look at this detailed tutorial. It goes into real depth on the entire process, with tons of pictures.
You’ll learn how to capture a character, convert it to a stitchable chart with DMC colors, how to stitch the design in Tent Stitch, pick a background color, and stitch the background. It’s fantastic!
One final note, a videogame character makes an outstanding first needlepoint project because the character has a black outline, which is then colored. If you want to introduce a child to needlepoint, add one more step to the process. Transfer the outline only of the character to canvas. The child then stitches the outline in black and fills in the colors.
If only I had known about this when my son was in junior high and crazy about Pokemon.
About Janet M Perry
Janet Perry is the Internet's leading authority on needlepoint. She designs, teaches and writes, getting raves from her fans for her innovative techniques, extensive knowledge and generous teaching style. A leading writer of stitch guides, she blogs here and lives on an island in the northeast corner of the SF Bay with her family
I recently started a Mario needlepoint. I created it by printing a grid, and then printing a Mario picture on top of it. Transferring the picture onto the needlepoint was time-consuming, but I really like the way it’s turning out so it was well worth it.
This is definitely an easy piece, and I totally agree that it would be a great way to get kids interested — simple, 1-color sections and a thick black outline!
I so enjoy your site and thank you so very much for sharing. It gives me courage;I only wish my Mum could have known all that you have made available.
*christina*