Dan Mafra
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danmafra.bsky.social
Dan Mafra
@danmafra.bsky.social
Pixel Art Specialist
Senior Level
Owner at DMPAC
Dan Mafra Pixel Arts Company
Www.danmafrapixelarts.com

Portfolio at https://www.behance.net/danielmmafra

Open to Commissions. :)
Pinned
Not the most popular,
but a recent one:

Vans Black Friday’s game.

Pixel arts and art direction by me.
vans.com.br/black-friday...

Here's a shot, taken from the page itself.
Dropping a preview for you.

Click on it.
Share it around.

Enjoy. :)

#vans #danmafra #pixelart #openforwork #pixelartist
Thought of the day // Game dev note

Never promise exclusivity if it isn’t real.
Focus on quality. Always.

When money comes before the product, something is already wrong.
The result will show it.
If the client doesn’t see it, the player will.

🧵
#gamedev #indiegame #indiegamedev #indie #gamedesign
February 4, 2026 at 10:32 PM
Even as a professional pixel artist,
I constantly work across other disciplines.

The creative mind doesn’t stop.

Today I’m in Figma,
working and always studying UI design.

#pixelart #pixelartist #UIart #UIdesign #figma #UIUX
January 18, 2026 at 4:09 PM
🧩🎮

End-of-day question:

We talk about game genres as if they were obvious.
But are they?

When does something stop being a game,
and when are we just afraid to admit it isn’t one anymore?
Who gets to draw that line?

And how would you define a game genre?

Your move. Let’s talk.

🎲♟

#videogames
January 14, 2026 at 8:04 PM
This morning I was working on a 1-bit pixel art commission for a Playdate game.

I’ve been refining a technique I developed for precise dithering using Photoshop.

Simple manual workflows still do what plugins can’t. :)

I’ll upload the outcome soon.

#pixelart #pixelartist #playdate #1bit #techart
January 14, 2026 at 12:28 PM
If you're prompting do to pixelizated images and calling yourself a pixel artist and that pixel art,

Sorry,
you're cheating and that's no pixel art.

Art is what you should be doing by your hands instead of typing commands on a interface.

#Aiart️ #pixelart #pixelartist #fakepixels #digitalart
January 12, 2026 at 4:37 PM
I just published The Cyborg Without Metal

danmafrawords.medium.com/the-cyborg-w...

An article about AI.

Comment below!

#AIイラスト︎ #AIart #AI美女 #AI #creativity #article
The Cyborg Without Metal
A short essay and reflection on humanity at the beginning of the AI era
medium.com
January 12, 2026 at 1:24 PM
Brazil is funny.

I read Law No. 15,325, from January 6, 2026, sanctioned by the current president.

It regulates the practice of the multimedia profession.

I read it.
I thought about it.

I thought about it some more.

#laws #digitalart #youtuber #politics #brazilisfunny
LEI Nº 15.325, DE 6 DE JANEIRO DE 2026 - DOU - Imprensa Nacional
Portal da Imprensa Nacional do Brasil. Diário Oficial da União.
www.in.gov.br
January 11, 2026 at 7:29 PM
Remember He-Man?
And the Masters of the Universe?

A promising game inspired like Golden Axe is coming.

By Bitmap Bureau, the studio behind Xeno Crisis.

No release date yet.
But definitely one to keep an eye on.

bit.ly/4aOiwGJ

#pixelart #gamedev #steam #heman #mastersoftheuniverse #goldenaxe
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe™: Dragon Pearl of Destruction on Steam
Eternia’s favorite heroes including He-Man, Teela, Man-At-Arms and more in a two-player, retro-inspired 2D magic-brawler, drawn in beautiful pixel-art and featuring huge, highly-detailed sprites, desi...
bit.ly
January 11, 2026 at 3:36 PM
This week has been an important one.
Pixel art and UI projects moving forward.

An artist’s life, when professional, always brings a new challenge.

Ten minutes ago, I was debating whether a game mechanic should have many A and one B, or many B and one A.

That’s a Tostines kind of problem.
January 8, 2026 at 9:12 PM
I want to present a simple ethical dilemma from the field I work in: artistic production for games and the audiovisual industry.
January 8, 2026 at 3:34 PM
Good AI is one that that expands human potential.
Not one that replaces it.

#AI美女 #AIイラスト #AI #CreativeFreedom #Humanity #digitalart #FutureOfAI
January 8, 2026 at 2:11 PM
I’m opening a new service.

I come from a graphic design background, and I work professionally as an illustrator, pixel artist, and art director, with experience in games and audiovisual projects.
I’m now available for book cover design and artwork, especially for independent and small authors.
Behance
www.behance.net
January 7, 2026 at 11:09 AM
AI didn’t start a revolution.
It accelerated a cycle.

Art has always been reshaped by new tools, from photography to digital media.

This article reflects on AI, authorship, and meaning, without hype or fear.

AI, Art, and the Cycle of Reinvention
medium.com/@danmafrawor...

#AIArt #AI #Art
AI, Art, and the Cycle of Reinvention
AI, Art, and the Cycle of Reinvention
medium.com
January 3, 2026 at 2:42 PM
When you wake up in 2026,
still thinking 2025 was just next door.

Sometimes time feels like a place,
one you quietly leave behind
while getting ready to explore another.

My wishes for 2026:
become a better version of yourself
and keep creating.

No fights. Just creation.
Dan Mafra

#NewYear2026
January 1, 2026 at 12:13 PM
Hi! Check out my latest article:

Work, AI, and Respect: What 2025 Taught Me as an Artist
www.linkedin.com/pulse/work-a...
via @linkedin.com

Happy New Year. 🌊

#CreativeWork #artistday #gamedev #AIart #PixelArt #HappyNewYear2026
Work, AI, and Respect: What 2025 Taught Me as an Artist
2025 was an intense and deeply interesting year for me. Through my company, DMPAC, I was able to bring high-quality pixel art (and some vectors and 3ds) to a wide range of developers and producers, fr...
www.linkedin.com
December 31, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Just released Seven Waves.

A small ASCII game built in about 8 hours.

Simple in form, but very intentional in concept.
Playable directly in the browser on PC and mobile
(click/tap to play):

🌊 danmafrapixelarts.itch.io/sevenwaves
Seven Waves by Dan Mafra Pixel Arts Company
Seven Waves - A ASCII game about Brazilian Reveillon Party
danmafrapixelarts.itch.io
December 30, 2025 at 6:50 PM
Hi.

Today is the 29th, and we still have a long year ahead.

Turbo Santa Chaos is moving forward.

There’s a lot of work ahead to improve the game experience for 2026 and to communicate its progress over the next 12 months.
December 29, 2025 at 2:48 PM
For the Zelda fans:

Hylide was released 2 years before, for PC-88, in 1984

Probably inspired the production of The Legend of Zelda (1986).

Check out Hylide at MobyGames:

www.mobygames.com/game/12807/h...
December 28, 2025 at 3:19 PM
After a good time,
Due to Turbo Santa Chaos and other projects.
I've gotten back to using Tiled for editing and have created tile-based backgrounds, maps, and environment art.

In pixel art and game dev,
There are great tools, known and unknown, out there. 🙂

What tool do you recommend?
Turbo Santa Chaos by Dan Mafra Pixel Arts Company
Turbo Santa Chaos - Demo
danmafrapixelarts.itch.io
December 28, 2025 at 2:21 PM
In UI/UX Design,
we have skeuomorphism, which uses physical objects as visual references.

And we also have flat design,
which brings design toward solutions that prioritize clarity, legibility, and functionality.

...
December 26, 2025 at 3:32 PM
We released Turbo Santa Chaos on Xmas's 24th. Took a break on 25th. I am back to pixel art work on 26th.

But now we'll be working on make it better for 2026.

Play danmafrapixelarts.itch.io

Arts behance.net/gallery/2406...

Enjoy and share the Xmas! :)

#Xmas #turbosantachaos #gamedev #indiegame
Dan Mafra Pixel Arts Company
danmafrapixelarts.itch.io
December 26, 2025 at 12:41 PM
Turbo Santa Chaos 🎄

A small Christmas arcade game.
Cool Pixel art and fun gameplay!

An ongoing DMPAC game project evolving toward 2026.

🕹️ Play it on Itch.io:
danmafrapixelarts.itch.io/turbo-santa-...

More updates coming soon!

#indiegame #pixelart #gamedev #xmasgame #christmas
Turbo Santa Chaos by Dan Mafra Pixel Arts Company
Turbo Santa Chaos - Demo
danmafrapixelarts.itch.io
December 24, 2025 at 7:46 PM
Game already online,
Somewhere, on the Internet.

Simple, but fun game.

Happy to create (and co-create), and work on it.
Soon I'll be sharing links and pages.

Cheers!

#danmafra
#Xmas2025
#Xmas
#pixelart
#xmasgame
#christmas
#natal
#Natal2025
#indiegamedev
#gamedev
#indiegames
#games
December 24, 2025 at 1:53 PM
Before Christmas, I’ll be launching a small, charming, and enjoyable pixel art game.

I’m working on the final touches right now.

More news later today. 🎄

.
.
.

#indiegame
#Xmas
#Christmas
#gamedev
#pixelart
#simplegame
#danmafra
#gamedev
#IndieGameDev
#xmasgame
#dmpac
December 22, 2025 at 10:38 AM
I've just changed my banner here on Blue Sky.

The portfolio is under updating process right now.

Soon you'll see new material there, this week and the other one.

Please check out the pixel arts & arts:

www.behance.net/danielmmafra
Behance
www.behance.net
December 16, 2025 at 2:02 PM