Pokémon bead patterns: where to find them, and what is allowed?
What is allowed with Pokémon bead art, where to find patterns, and which characters are easiest? Plus how to design your own pocket monster in beads.
Patterns in the picture: Dragon Drinking Cocoa · Frog Playing Drums · Hamster in Space Suit · Robot with a Flower
Short answer: You're welcome to make a Pokémon bead piece for yourself or as a gift. What you're not allowed to do is share or sell patterns and pieces with the characters – they're protected by copyright and trademarks. That's why Perleland doesn't have Pokémon patterns. Fans share lots of patterns on Pinterest, for example, and if you want something that's completely your own, you can design your own pocket monster in text to bead board.
Pikachu, Eevee and a whole world of beads
Pokémon is one of the things people most want to make in beads – and that makes sense. The characters come from pixel games and have clear colors and distinct shapes, so they're practically made for bead art. Here you can read what's allowed, where to find patterns, which characters are easiest to start with – and how to design your own character in the same style.
Are you allowed to make Pokémon bead art?
For private use at home: yes. Copyright doesn't stop you from making a character you like in beads yourself – for yourself or as a gift. What you're not allowed to do is copy and share or sell patterns and finished pieces with protected characters. That applies both to us as a platform and to you as a private person, for example at flea markets or in groups on social media.
Where can you find Pokémon patterns?
- Pinterest: search for "pokemon perler" or "pokemon hama". Fans share lots of patterns.
- Reddit: in bead art communities, people share their patterns and finished pieces.
- YouTube: lots of videos show how to make a character, bead by bead.
Patterns you find are for you – don't share them as your own.
The easiest Pokémon to start with
- Pikachu: yellow, black and red. Few colors, and everyone recognizes it.
- Eevee: brown and cream. Cute and simple.
- Bulbasaur: turquoise and green with dark spots.
- Squirtle: light blue with a brown shell and a light belly.
- Charmander: orange and cream with a flame on its tail.
The big characters with lots of details – like Charizard with its wings and fire, or Gyarados with its long body – take more boards and more patience.
What size works for Pokémon?
- About 20×20 beads: the classic game look. Quick to make.
- 29×29 beads: one midi board. Room for eyes and cheeks.
- 58×58 beads: 2×2 boards. More details and soft edges.
- 87×87 beads and up: 3×3 boards or more – a picture for the wall.
See how many beads each size takes in how many beads do you need?
Design your own pocket monster
The most fun thing – and completely legal – is to come up with your own monster. It's easier than it sounds:
- Describe it in words. Write, for example, "a turquoise thunder fox with three tails" in text to bead board, and Perleland draws the character and makes the pattern. Well-known characters from games and movies aren't drawn – but your own character is.
- Draw it yourself. Draw the character on paper, take a picture of the drawing, and choose the picture in Perleland. Then your drawing becomes a bead pattern.
- Fix it bead by bead. In the editor ("Edit in the tool"), you can fine-tune the eyes, outline and shadows afterwards – just like pixel artists do.
Tips for a monster that looks like "the real ones"
- 2-4 main colors and a dark outline give the classic game look.
- Big eyes and a small body make any character cute.
- One clear feature – a flame tail, big ears or a snail shell – makes the character easy to recognize.
- Keep it small. The characters in the first games were at most 56×56 pixels, so 20-30 beads tall is plenty.
- Make a collection. Come up with three monsters – a fire, a water and a grass monster – and hang them side by side.
Fantasy characters from our gallery
We don't have Pokémon patterns, but these characters are just as fun to make – and completely free:
Dragon Drinking Cocoa
Hamster in Space Suit
Unicorn on Skateboard
Rainbow Dragon with Impressive Wings
Robot with a Flower
Frog Playing Drums
Choose a photo and make your own bead pattern
Frequently asked questions
Can I sell Pokémon bead art?
No, not without permission from the people who own the characters. That applies to both finished pieces and patterns. For yourself and as a gift, it's fine.
Why doesn't Perleland have Pokémon patterns?
Because the characters are protected, and we're not allowed to share them. Instead, you can make your own characters in the same style – with text to bead board or from your own drawing.
How big should a Pokémon bead piece be?
A small game-style character can be made in about 20×20 beads. If you want more details, use 2×2 boards (58×58 beads) or more.
Read next
- Make your own bead pattern – from picture to PDF in 10 minutes
- How many beads do you need? – a table for every board size
- Hama bead color codes – all 89 colors with number and name