The issue of drawing living beings has been discussed by scholars for centuries, and the rulings differ depending on the nature and purpose of the image. The Prophet ﷺ warned against making images that imitate the creation of Allah, and he said: “The people who will receive the most severe punishment on the Day of Resurrection will be the image-makers.” (Bukhari and Muslim). Because of narrations like this, many early scholars discouraged drawing complete, realistic depictions of living beings, especially when they resemble Allah’s creation closely.

However, scholars also explained that the prohibition relates primarily to images that resemble living beings in a complete and lifelike form. When the image is incomplete, lacks essential facial features, or is clearly stylized and not a realistic representation of a human being, many jurists considered it outside the scope of the prohibition. Classical scholars even mentioned that if the head or essential facial features are removed or incomplete, the image is no longer considered a full depiction of a living creature.

In modern times, many scholars have applied this reasoning to simplified illustrations, cartoons, educational drawings, and digital graphics that are clearly stylized and not intended to imitate the creation of Allah realistically. Pixelated game characters, especially those that are extremely simplified and lack full facial features, such as having only eyes and no mouth or nose, generally fall into this category of non-realistic representation.

Based on this reasoning, many contemporary scholars consider such simplified digital characters permissible, particularly when they are used for beneficial or neutral purposes such as education, programming, game design, or creative work, and when they are not promoting immoral themes.

At the same time, scholars advise maintaining moderation and ensuring that the content of the game itself remains halal—avoiding themes that promote violence without purpose, gambling mechanics, indecency, or other prohibited elements.

Therefore, creating simplified pixel characters such as the one you described, especially when they are clearly stylized and lack full facial features, falls within the area that many scholars permit, and it is not considered the type of image-making warned against in the prophetic narrations.