After 14 years, the artist behind Minecraft's iconic paintings shares the original artwork made for what was once a "little weird indie hobby game"

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Meet the artist behind Minecraft's paintings

Minecraft Pigscene painting
(Image credit: Mojang)

The artist behind Minecraft's iconic paintings has shared the original PNG and the story of how they started working on the "little weird indie hobby game." 

Artist Kristoffer Zetterstrand recently shared an insight into Minecraft's paintings, revealing the original images that were then shrunk down and used in the game. In a tweet, Zetterstrand said: "Back in 2010, Markus (aka Notch) asked me if I could do some pixel paintings for his little weird indie hobby game 'Minecraft.' So I shrunk down some pics of my oil paintings and played around with them a bit. Then I sent him this file."

The file the artist is referring to is included in the tweet and features many of the paintings that you can find in the sandbox title, including the Donkey Kong painting and the one of the person holding the pig. The paintings featured below are used to add a bit of personality to players' builds and can also be easily crafted with just a few materials found in the game.

In the replies to the tweet, somebody asked Zetterstrand how they feel about their artwork being "some of the most viewed in the modern age" due to Minecraft having so many players and viewers thanks to Let's Plays. The follower also asked if the artist wished more people knew the person behind the artwork.

"It's surprising and fun," Zetterstrand replied, before revealing that they don't wish more people knew who'd made the artwork but "would not mind it" if more people discovered who they were. Finally, they were asked if they're still proud of the artwork, even though it's been pixelated and shrunk down, to which they simply said: "Yes."

In other Minecraft news, last month developer Mojang rolled out the Minecraft 1.21 update which added the brand-new Wind Charges which very quickly won over fans. 

Looking for something new to play? Take a look at our games like Minecraft list. 

Hope Bellingham
Hope Bellingham
News Writer

After studying Film Studies and Creative Writing at university, I was lucky enough to land a job as an intern at Player Two PR where I helped to release a number of indie titles. I then got even luckier when I became a Trainee News Writer at GamesRadar+ before being promoted to a fully-fledged News Writer after a year and a half of training.  My expertise lies in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cozy indies, and The Last of Us, but especially in the Kingdom Hearts series. I'm also known to write about the odd Korean drama for the Entertainment team every now and then.