Pixel pools

We love summer. Sunny weather, fun activities, and long lazy afternoons of lounging at the beach or by the poolside – what’s not to like? Still, there’s no question that this year’s plans may be a little different, so today we’re bringing the outside inside to create fabulous and funky pools for your Minecraft world.

To take it one step further, we want to turn these pools into something more: pieces of art! Because why settle with a basic build when you can be the Picasso of pools? Don’t worry, we’ll have you diving into the deep end of these dazzling creations in no time!

First, we’ll start with the basics. You’ll want to create a pool. If you’ve never made one or just need a refresher, here is what you need:

• Gather all your materials. It doesn’t matter what materials you use or the shape you build your new pool in – the only required elements are the buckets you will use to fill your pool with water!
• Mark out a shape to help you figure out where you are building and draw your outline with blocks.
• Dig out the inside of your pool to fill in your outline – two blocks down should suffice.
• Fill the base with some simple materials – or skip ahead a bit to find out how you can make an even bigger splash with your new structure!
• Fill up the pool with water buckets, or watch your pool fill with water as your friend does all the work.
  
• Grab more friends, construct a barbeque or build an outdoor buffet, then get ready to stay afloat in compliments and praise!
  

Now that we have learned the basic steps, let's start thinking about how we can make your pool more advanced and add some art to it! You can either create a brand new pool now that you know how to do this, or replace the bottom of the pool you just built with some brand new stylish art. We’ve introduced you to a lot of blocks over the last few months through Build With It to consider while creating your designs, so you likely have picked out some favorites by now. For your first pool, you’ll want to start with something less complex. A good place to start would be to take a few of your favorite colors, find materials that match, and put them together on the bottom of your pool. You could also create your pools in different, unexpected shapes. For example, you could try something fruit shaped like our image below!

Once you have a good understanding of shapes and coloring, you should try adding some pixel art to your pool. Pixel art is an art form that fits Minecraft like a glove, thanks to its blocky emphasis and low res vibe. You’ve probably seen a lot of it from many of the talented artists in our community. Creating pixel art can be challenging – you could use one of the many art programs available out there, or you could grab some graph paper and do things the old-fashioned way to plan the pool of your dreams. Where can you inspiration to make this happen? Everywhere!

While it’s true most of the pixel art you may encounter visiting other worlds in Minecraft can reach high into the sky, the advantages of keeping your art a little “down to (virtual) earth” are numerous. First, it keeps your horizons clear – just what you need to see those creepers coming. Second, depending on your design, it may be easier to build horizontally instead of vertically. Next, adding a design where it isn’t easily visible adds a little bit of a surprise for visitors.

Finally, at the end you have a build that is not only fun to look at, but play with.

While our examples focus mainly on Minecraft themed art, it’s your build and you can create whatever fits your world best. Will your art be spooky or spacey? Classic or modern?

Whatever method and style of inspiration you select, we’d be delighted to check out your designs and feature them in a future community gallery. Don’t forget to send your screenshots over to FeatureMe@minecraft.net once you’re done. Happy building!