Monthly Archives: September 2013

Final Fantasy Kraken

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perler-kraken perler-kraken2This beadsprite is the Final Fantasy fiend Kraken. In the original NES version of Final Fantasy, there were no save points in dungeons. You could save outside, or at an Inn. This was one of the super annoying bosses that would kill you after you had just cleared a dungeon of all it’s treasure, and were ready to just finish up and move on, then this dude would hit you heavy with 8 hit combos, and wipe you out.

As with all of the 4+ board Perler creations, he was a challenge to iron out, and the black border beads didn’t all fully close up. I’ve been noticing that the black beads in particular have had some variance in size which seems to impact the alignment of the borders, but it’s not so bad that I have been tossing them out, yet. It’s most noticeable when the tweezers don’t quite fit in the holes well. I’m happy with the bead side, though, and plan to mount it to canvas with that side up.

 

Perler delivery days are the best

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box-of-beads bead-varietyGetting stuff in the mail is great. Getting a shipment of beads in the mail is awesome. Perler beads hold so much potential; they can become anything you want them to be. They can be made into a Dragon, a Grumpy cat, or Grandma.

I have another shipment coming in middle of next week. I’m actually gonna be getting some sparkles, some stripey, and some pearlescent beads as well as 15k more black beads, and my 4th 22k tub-o-assorted beads. I’m spending like, $75 a month on this hobby, but it is well worth it.

 

Cookie Clicker Grandma Fan Art

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perler-grandma-cookieclickerThe internet is a funny thing; you never really know what will come out of it. The simplest of things can attract your attention, and the game “Cookie Clicker” is one of those.

The premise is simple. Click on the cookie to get a cookie. When you get a few cookies, you can buy a second cursor to click on the cookie for you. As you build up a few more cookies, you can purchase a “Grandma” to bake cookies for you. Your CPS, or “cookies per second” increases, and before you know it, you’re opening portals to an alternate universe called the “cookieverse” and condensing antimatter to push your CPS into the billions!

The real magic behind the game, like any other, is the story it tells in the form of achievements, and headlines reminiscent of those you would find in Simcity that relay the impact of your choices. The many abuses you level against the Grandmas are particularly dark; at one point you enter into an “Elder Covenant” with the Grandmatriarch, and twist and deform the Grandmas into hyper-dimensional beings with supernatural cookie baking powers.

I had a ton of fun making this beadsprite, and am really enjoying all the feedback I have gotten on it so far on reddit and imgur. I’m starting to feel like what I am doing might actually become “art”. I am planning on making the smaller variations of the “Grandma” from the game in the coming weeks, and will also be mounting this on painted canvass with one of the quotes from the game.

 

Perler Key Chains

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keychains2 keychainsMy favorite part of making Perler beadsprites is being able to give them to friends and family. Keychains are by far the most popular of the gifts, as they have an actual use, can be highly personalized, and if made correctly, can last a while. I have a Mario coin on my keychain that I think is one of the coolest things ever. =)

I made these to give away to friends and coworkers. the tongue out winky was by far the most well received. The recipient says that everyone who sees it, loves it, and loves that it is something handmade, not store bought.

I will be making a tutorial video on this soon, and will update this post with a link to the video.

 

Final Fantasy Chimera

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chimera2 chimeraThis beadsprite is the Chimera from Final Fantasy. A Chimera is a fire-breathing dragon/lion/snake/goat. Yes…goat. Maybe the goat is some integral part part of the creature that is needed to hold together the the various biological needs of the whole. They cast “FIR3” on you in groups and can wipe you out, goat head, or no.

I think I might have liked it more if I had used a lighter brown. I had already swapped out two of the colors while making it, and sometimes you don’t *really* know what it will look like until it’s done.

Final Fantasy Troll

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troll2 trollThis beadsprite is the Troll from Final Fantasy. Trolls show up in packs of 2-4 and perpetually seemed surprised to see you there. I always thought they looked like they were swamp creatures with swamp vines hanging off of them, but apparently that is supposed to be hair. Later versions made it much easier to identify that.

I’m still using my backup iron, and I tend to run it too hot. Some of the beads on display side have less depth than I like, but overall, it came out good. The color choices left me to have the greens a little to close in shade to give the effect that the sprite has originally, but I like the way it came out.

Final Fantasy Giant

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giant2 giantThis is the giant from Final Fantasy. In later re-releases of the game, they re-named it the “Hill Gigas”. I always thought bigger creatures like this should have way more hitpoints than they do; it felt lame to just chop through these with a fire spell and a whack from the fighter.

I like that the Giant is wearing a cape. Dude isn’t wearing pants or a shirt, but he will wear a cape. He’s like the Jolly Green Giant’s older brother that is really into the “Spartan” look. I guess it’s just not easy for a giant to roll into town and pick up slacks, and it would be crazy expensive to get them custom made, and fighting heroes in a dungeon is more of a hobby than a paying job.

 

Orko / Black Mage crossover

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orko2 orkoI always thought that Orko and the Black Mage from Final Fantasy looked alike, so, it seemed fitting to mash them up and make a Beadsprite of the result (while writing this post, I have of course found that someone else had already thought this up in 2010).

I’m considering using other FF sources to make He-Man, Man at Arms, and possibly others. If I can find a way to sneak some Thundercats in there, too, that would be sweet.

Final Fantasy Ghoul

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ghoul2 ghoulFinal Fantasy has it’s fair share of throwaway undead and zombies, and stuff. This is a Ghoul. They show up around the time you are heading to get your first crystal, and just attack in packs. The FIR2 spell just mows them down,

This is the first of the FF monsters I have made that  doesn’t even look recognizable. If you just handed it to someone, they wouldn’t even be able to tell you what side is “up” (my kid actually couldn’t see it until I showed him from further away). I hope the other palette swaps of this look better.

Cloud Strife

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cloud-2 cloud strife perler beadsprite final fantasyYou might have seen this design around the internet before, or some variation of it. As far as custom sprites go, this is one of the best ones. The artists other work can be found here.

I made this for a buddy of mine who is a huge Final Fantasy fan. He has a fairly large collection of FF stuff bought from conventions, and the internet, and he was really stoked to have this to add to it (I might even be making him the Sepiroth to match).

I customized it some, to give the hair a little more of a vibrant quality, and changed the reflection on the blade to blue as I have seen other artists do when recreating this sprite. I am really happy with the result, and I might make one for myself soon, too.