Craft Check: Bead Sprite Magnets
Winter 2009 Issue
Features
- From the Editors
- Craft Check: Bead Sprite Magnets
Interviews
- Industry Interview: Karen Clark, Project Manager at Bioware
- Industry Interview: Britney Brimhall, Himalaya Studios
Articles
- A Gaming Con for Tucson
Author: Robyn Fleming
- This Is Our World Too: Preventing Real Victims of Virtual Rape
Author: Casey Fiesler
- G.I.R.L. Power?
Author: Amy M Hopper
- Killing Grannies, Slaughtering Monsters and Leveling the F*** Up
Author: Oliver Saenz
- I Am a Gamer
Author: Kialio
Robyn reports on Tucson's first ever gaming convention, RinCon '08.
Casey reports on the ways in which virtual sexual assault can impact on gamers.
Amy investigates Sony Entertainment Online's new "G.I.R.L." scholarship program.
Oliver examines the ways in which games apply different moral and ethical philosophies.
Kialio discusses why the behavior of self-identified "gamers" had made her reluctant to embrace the label.
Gamer Stories
Reviews
Odds 'n Ends
During your internet wanderings, you may have come across “bead sprites”; recreations of classic 8-bit video game sprites made using plastic beads which fuse together when heated. This month, I’ll run through both how to make your own bead sprites and how to turn the finished result into fridge magnets.
Cost: The materials for a set will cost between $10 and $20, depending on quantity.
Time: About 15 – 20 minutes per magnet.
Skill level: Almost nonexistent.
Equipment:
- Fusible beads
- Peg tray
- Magnetic paper
- Scissors
- PVA glue
- An iron
- Wax paper
- A craft knife
- A sprite to copy
Step 1: Making the bead design
There are various brands of fusible beads available from toy and craft supply stores, the best known being Perler. I visited my nearest toy store and picked up this set made by Hama, which contained 4000-odd beads, two interlocking peg trays and the world’s most patronizing truck. If you’re planning to copy sprites, make sure that you’ve gotten a tray with pegs that are equally spaced vertically and horizontally in a grid, rather than “staggered” as some sets are.
Since the bead colors I’ve ended up with are predominately red and yellow, the two most obvious choices are Samus and Gutsman. This being the socially conscious issue, I’ll stick with galactic savior Samus rather than a boulder-obsessed sociopath who lives in a cave. Having obtained a suitable sprite, open it up in an image editing program and zoom in, turning a grid overlay on if possible, then reproduce it using the beads. Keep in mind that the finished magnet will be the reverse of the pattern you’re making now, so flip the sprite horizontally if need be.
When it’s done, place a sheet of wax paper over the beads and run an iron across it a few times until the beads have all fused together. Since the side you’re applying the iron to will actually be the back of the finished magnet, don’t worry if the beads end up too gooey-looking.
Step 2: Attaching the beads to the magnetic paper
Magnetic paper can be purchased through most office supply stores. I picked up a pack of 5 A4 sheets, which is enough to make about a dozen sprite magnets. The actual magnetic strength is usually just enough to hold up a standard piece of paper, so don’t count on the finished product supporting anything more substantial.
Once the fused beads have cooled down, remove them from the pegs and cover the back – the side facing up when you ironed it – with PVA glue. Stick it to the magnetic paper and leave it somewhere warm to dry, preferably with something heavy on top to flatten it out in case the design warped slightly during the ironing.
Step 3: Cutting out the magnet
Magnetic paper is thin enough to be cut with standard kitchen scissors. Make sure the PVA is dry and cut around the edges of the design in a rough rectangle, but leave the fine detail alone for now.
Because scissors are too imprecise and can easily slice beads off by accident if you attempt fine cuts with them, go around the edges with a craft knife to finish it off.
And we’re done, with 4.5 sheets of magnetic paper and several thousand beads left over. You could make the entire cast of Bokosuka Wars with that, you know.
