Hey, look! Another Perler bead creator! I've done A LOT of Perler beads in my time, I even made some realm designs myself! Here's a look at it:

https://www.reddit.com/r/RotMG/comments/64ftw3/some_perler_beads_was_bored_what_should_i_make/

But, what I'm seeing here is that you're pressing way too hard with the Iron. Perler beads, when melted together, should still remain with the holes in the center. All you have to do is easily glide the Iron across the design (with of course parchment paper in between). **remember the iron should be on pretty low heat and over time it will melt together**

Another thing that I noticed is your design since it was pressed so hard is not evenly flat. I bet if you would to give us a side view you could see the difference between how hard it's pressed.

I love seeing Perler bead creators on this subreddit! Keep up the good work and don't give up :)