Pushpin Pixels Produce Plumber

I ran across this series of photos on flickr that a group of students created back in 2008.  They had a bulletin board and took the time to fill it up with pushpins to create an iconic Super Mario Brothers scene.  The flickr posting claims that over 17,000 pins were used in the creation here, and it doesn't take a genius to realize that it probably took a long long time to get this finished.  So maybe some video game sprites aren't as artsy as photo-realistic replications in pushpins, but it does appeal to a fair number of people.

SMB3 in Pushpins

As you can see from the above images there are clearly blue pushpins, green pushpins, black pushpins and white pushpins.  There are red pushpins, a few orange pushpins and even fewer yellow pushpins, with a smattering of peach colored pins.  It is most probable that they just repainted a number of pins to get the custom coloring they needed.  I can tell from another photos on flickr that they did have a number of clear pushpins as well as a freakish variety of skin-toned pins.

Assorted Color Pushpins

If you were going to attempt to reconstruct this on your own I'd recommend you find the cheapest multicolor pushpins that you can (these Universal Rainbow Pushpins are under a dollar) and buy enough to fill your wall.  You could save a couple more cents by buying these OIC Pushpins in Bulk if you wanted.  Any set of pins will supply you with the basic red, blue, yellow, and green, and finding any specialized colors will be very difficult so you would be better off picking up a can of spray-paint designed for plastic and making sure you get a perfect orange, and a perfect skin tone.  Oddly enough Universal does sell a pack of all red pushpins, but any other color you'll have to risk a variety pack.