In this video, I walk you through the basics of making a custom fuse bead (Perler bead) portrait template, so you’re not stuck guessing where each color should go. My goal is to help you turn any photo into a clean, bead-ready pattern you can actually follow—especially if you’re aiming for portraits and want the details to read well once everything is fused. I keep it beginner-friendly, but I’m also thinking like a portrait artist the whole time: clarity, contrast, and simplifying the image so it translates into beads. I use pixel-beads.net in the tutorial and show how I approach building a portrait template with it. The big takeaway is that a good template isn’t just “convert photo to pixels”—it’s choosing the right look for your portrait, keeping the design readable, and setting yourself up for a smoother beading process. If you have questions while you’re working on your own template, I invite you to leave a comment or email me at crafts.genie@gmail.com—happy crafting!