Pixel Art - Part 1 of 2
Sunday, September 6, 2009 by Sergio
For a definition of pixel art, see the bottom of this post.
Above is an artwork by a group called eBoy who are among the most well known producers of pixel art. eBoy frequently use the technique of isometric projection in their pixel art, a technique that has had ties to pixel art since the early 80s due to video games such as Zaxxon and Knight Lore. An interesting result of this technique is the grid of cubes used to construct the architecture (and other aspects of the work) alludes to the grid of pixels the construction blocks are in turn constructed from.
I chose this image specifically because it depicts a physical representation of the Internet, featuring a number of popular websites... pretty suitable for this blog. I also wanted to talk about the communities centred around the creation and appreciation of pixel art (such as Pixel Joint) but I've already said way too much.
What is pixel art?
Pixel art is the construction of images at the pixel level. Pixels, for those who don't know, are tiny coloured squares arranged in a grid, often to form the visuals we see on computer monitors, mobile phones and other technological devices. What differentiates pixel art from other digital images is that each pixel is individually and manually chosen rather than relying on the technology to do the work (such as the algorithms of digital cameras, or the tools, techniques and filters of a program like Photoshop). In addition to this, a limited colour palette is often employed.
These conditions of pixel art were initially formed out of necessity, as early computers couldn't display the number of colours they now can. In addition to this, graphics had to be created manually, so there was often no alternative to pixel art. In this way all pixel art alludes to past technology. Pixel art is rarer now on personal computers due to a decreased need for such restrictions, but appears frequently on mobile phones and handheld gaming devices.
Above is an artwork by a group called eBoy who are among the most well known producers of pixel art. eBoy frequently use the technique of isometric projection in their pixel art, a technique that has had ties to pixel art since the early 80s due to video games such as Zaxxon and Knight Lore. An interesting result of this technique is the grid of cubes used to construct the architecture (and other aspects of the work) alludes to the grid of pixels the construction blocks are in turn constructed from.
I chose this image specifically because it depicts a physical representation of the Internet, featuring a number of popular websites... pretty suitable for this blog. I also wanted to talk about the communities centred around the creation and appreciation of pixel art (such as Pixel Joint) but I've already said way too much.
What is pixel art?
Pixel art is the construction of images at the pixel level. Pixels, for those who don't know, are tiny coloured squares arranged in a grid, often to form the visuals we see on computer monitors, mobile phones and other technological devices. What differentiates pixel art from other digital images is that each pixel is individually and manually chosen rather than relying on the technology to do the work (such as the algorithms of digital cameras, or the tools, techniques and filters of a program like Photoshop). In addition to this, a limited colour palette is often employed.
These conditions of pixel art were initially formed out of necessity, as early computers couldn't display the number of colours they now can. In addition to this, graphics had to be created manually, so there was often no alternative to pixel art. In this way all pixel art alludes to past technology. Pixel art is rarer now on personal computers due to a decreased need for such restrictions, but appears frequently on mobile phones and handheld gaming devices.