Pixel Art Robot
P.A.R.
A machine that draws your pixel art in the real world, one flipped squisk at a time.
Three full prints, sped up 125×.
Latest print
Meet the squisk
The display is a grid of squisks — square discs — black on one side and cyan on the other. Each pixel of your art is shown on one. Every one is assembled by hand.
Built from scratch
P.A.R. is a custom robot with a one-of-a-kind toolhead: a color sensor, a servo motor, and a pusher. Over a thousand 3D-printed parts, dozens of wires, and hundreds of hours went into P.A.R.
How a print happens
1 · Scan
P.A.R. reads every disc on the board with its color sensor to learn the current state.
2 · Flip
It grabs your art from the queue and flips only the squisks that need to change.
3 · Check
A final rescan catches any missed flips and fixes them, then the photo is taken.
Make something for P.A.R.
Draw a picture or upload a photo. it’s free, and you’ll get a video of it being printed!
Start drawingAbout P.A.R.
P.A.R. is a robot that draws 37x18 monochrome pixel art by flipping squisks (square discs).
It was designed to provide a unique art experience, letting the artist watch their art get made physically, through an interesting process.
FAQ
What does P.A.R. stand for?
P.A.R. stands for Pixel Art Robot.
How much does it cost to submit art to P.A.R.??
Submitting art to P.A.R. is completely free. There are no fees or ads.
How does P.A.R. work?
P.A.R. is basically a CNC machine with a special toolhead. It has a color sensor, a servo motor, and a pin, or pusher. The robot first scans the grid with the color sensor. Then it grabs the next pixel art piece from the server. Once it has the art, it starts flipping squisks. Here's an animation of how a squisk is flipped:
Next, it rescans the grid to check which squisks it failed to flip. It finally fixes any errors it finds.
Can I build it myself?
Yes! If you want to subject yourself to weeks or months of pain and suffering, you can access the full CAD model for free, and 3D print all the parts. You'll also need all of the items on this material list. You can find the code on my GitHub.
Disclaimer: the material list and other documents that regard building a P.A.R. are not necesarily complete yet. I am not responsible for any harm or damage caused by attempting to build a P.A.R.
