‘perler snoop dogg’ by steve moore or pxl8r, 2012 all images courtesy the artist

american artist steve moore or pxl8r creates inconceivably detailed depictions of famous faces entirely from perler beads. the brightly-colored plastic pieces are arranged in 11 x 11in squares then melted with the heat of a clothing-iron into photo- realistic mosaics of contemporary celebrities. pxl8r is able to produce highly-detailed visions of easily recognizable faces by studying an image of a face, then pixelating the image digitally before reconstructing the person’s likeness in plastic pieces.

‘I use an assortment of american perler beads, english hama beads, and swedish nabbi beads to achieve a broader color palette than any bead manufacturer offers individually. these portraits can be framed, though personally I think they stand better on their own. because they are plastic, the protection that a frame offers isn’t necessary.’ -pxl8r

plastic perler beads celebrity portraits ‘perler britney spears’

plastic perler beads celebrity portraits ‘perler john lennon’

plastic perler beads celebrity portraits ‘perler pee wee herman’

plastic perler beads celebrity portraits ‘perler harrison ford’

plastic perler beads celebrity portraits ‘perler stephan colbert’

plastic perler beads celebrity portraits ‘perler khloe kardashian’

plastic perler beads celebrity portraits ‘perler larry david’

plastic perler beads celebrity portraits ‘perler scarlett johansson’

plastic perler beads celebrity portraits ‘perler tina fey’

plastic perler beads celebrity portraits ‘perler samuel l. jackson’

plastic perler beads celebrity portraits ‘perler ellen degeneres’

plastic perler beads celebrity portraits ‘perler christopher walken’

plastic perler beads celebrity portraits ‘perler paul giamatti’

plastic perler beads celebrity portraits ‘perler steve buscemi’

via wired