Invader, is a French urban artist, is known for his ceramic tile mosaics modeled on the pixelated art of 1970s–1980s 8-bit video games. His creations can be seen in highly-visible locations in over 65 cities in 33 countries.
As a massive fan of Invader, I have been dreaming up a unit to incorporate and connect Pixel Art with the Lower Primary Visual Arts curriculum. So when I wound up with a crazy amount of small papercraft tiles, I pinned down a unit that combined art, math, and spatial planning. WINNING!
To introduce the concept of a pixel, Reception 1 students practiced using grids and pom poms to make simple pictures. Learning that a pixel is a small part of a bigger picture, students practiced following a template as well as planning their own picture using the grid and pom poms.
After making a grid that matched the size of the paper pixel tiles, I drew different colored Space Invaders on the grids to match the color paper tiles I had. Students then glued the tiles to the grid using glue and Q-tips.
Students then created their own Space Invader grid template by using colored pencils, colors that matched the paper tiles and then gluing the paper pixels to their grid. The photos below show the grids before and after the pixels were placed.
The unit totalled six, 30 minute lessons. Two lessons were spent on practicing with large girds and pom poms, the next two lessons, students glued pixels on to a pre-made template and the last two lessons students designed their own template and finished gluing.
Students worked on a large Invader at the early finisher corner each week to help create large pieces of pixel art to use for the display as well as hide and hang-up around the school.
I also printed 20 pictures of Invader’s Pixel Art and put them in various places around the school. This created intrigue from other grade levels who spotted them and wondered what they were. Despite only facilitating this unit to Reception 1, the entire school, including teachers and staff, learned about the art of Invader. The hope is that students continue to try and spot Invaders around the world, wherever they go!