Pixel Artist Research

Pixel Art

Pixelism is a contemporary art movement that explores organic images through regular mathematical grid forms. A single block of a 2 dimensional grid is known as a pixel, a contraction of picture element. The Pixelist movement is unusual as it evolved naturally from observations of computer processed imagery. Artists worldwide are exploring the theme and are often unaware of each other's similar interest. Pixelism started around 1980 when personal computers became popular. The necessary limitation of computer imagery immediately appealed to artists eager to explore these digital aesthetics in the real world. Unlike Cubism, pixelism always has as its base an underlying grid, with each painted block the same size. While the pixel painting meme is a modern phenomenon (1980-), the concept of painting images in mosaics is an ancient artform dating back to the Greek and Roman mosaics before 2BC. Modern Pixelism explores the ironic devolution of images into pre-renaissance mosaic, bringing fine art full-circle. Many pixel artists work purely in digital form, however, Pixelism refers specificaly to traditional artwork (painting, mosaic, sculpture) that exhibits Pixellated traits. Pixelist paintings are instantly recognisable in their style. While the imagery appears similarly constructed, each artist approaches the production of such a painting differently. Some artists paint the image from top to bottom, left to right, mixing each colour as they paint. Others pre-mix a palette of colours and select the nearest colour from the palette (jokingly called 8bit artists, referencing the computer term for creating digital images from an 8bit/256 colour palette). All of the original game were pixelted, all of well known game characters such as Mario, Sonic the hedgehog and others were all pixels. Many people have attempted to copy the beloved game characters on Minecraft, which is a game where everything is blocks and it is easy to create pixelated characters.

These are a few pixelated game characters i made using Minecraft:

Sonic the Hedgehog.

The I.T Crowd.

Boomerang Angry Bird.

And my most favourite so far, General grievous from Star Wars Episode 3.

This is a house house i made myself, this is a building design for game design.

This was originally suppose to be a replica of the Cabot Tower, then i turned it into a roller coaster.

This is suppose to be a power source which i came up with myself.

This is a map i designed for game design, it is suppose to be a street that was hit my a meteor and leaving a huge hole in the floor.

Chris Olian

Chris Olian is not a Famous pixel artist but his work is very good, This is some artwork of pixelated game characters and other.

Hitler never saw it coming. The four-picture progression cleverly relives the epic ending of Bionic Commando when Master-D (we all know it was Hitler) is destroyed. Ah, what a moment-- now preserved eternally in all its 8-bit splendor.
8 Bit Justice
Mastermind of pixilated pop art, Chris Olan AKA 8-Bit Artist, has made a name for himself in the realm of video game-inspired art. COIN-OP TV and RetroBlast take an inside look at Olan’s talents and inspiration.

How long have you been pursuing art, and how did you develop this unique style? “I’ve been painting for a little over a year now. My birthday was coming up, and my friend, an artist, asked me what I wanted. I told her I wanted a Mega Man piece done, but unfortunately, she got busy and couldn’t do it for me. I wanted the piece so much, I just decided to do it myself. I fell in love with how the sprite came out using just paints. After that, it is all I ever wanted to paint.”

- What motivates you to paint? “My inspiration is of course both the NES and my childhood. I have such fond memories of it growing up. The wonderful and colorful characters of the NES is what really influenced my painting. I love capturing a moment of a game on canvas and having people get taken back to that time when they didn’t have a care in the world and their biggest worry was trying to save the princess.”

How would you describe your style? “I've had people call my art lots of things: Pixelism, Pop Art, Neo-Dada Art and of course, Crap. I guess one could call it Pop Art since the NES is a pop icon, but I don't worry about a certain style or anything. If someone came up to me and asked me what I painted, I just smile and say, ‘I paint squares.’"

Do you think the relationship between art and video games will develop further in the future? “Absolutely. No matter how cool the gameplay or how well the game is done, if you don't have cool stuff to look at or have characters that don't stick in your head the game won't be as successful as it can be. The early NES games like Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Kid Icarus; they had such memorable characters, scenes, backgrounds, etc. It just enhanced the experience and that won't ever leave video games.”

Do you think retro gaming and style is making a comeback? Is it gaining popularity? “I think retro gaming is making a comeback, I mean, just look at all the different type of Nintendo shirts Hot Topic has! It has steadily been gaining popularity for while, although it is tough to say exactly why. My personal reason would be that games nowadays are much too complicated. I don't want to pop in Madden 2006 and be the QB and have to control my head, set my feet, and make sure I don't over throw and stuff like that or else my throw won’t be completed. I think it takes the fun out of it. I want to play Tecmo Bowl, be Bo Jackson and just have 25 rushing TD's in one game.”

Rodney Pygoya Chang What my presented art mathematical model professes is that upon the perception of any art object, the complex interactions of the factors of this equation operate and function to produce a holistic overall response (or perception) to the aesthetic stimulus. Like a computer, the mind inputs the data and comes up with a conclusion or decision as output....The formula for an art making modality also de-emphasizes the importance of the specific art medium used, freeing the creator to use whatever material or technology is available for his perusal. Sailing, Oil on Canvas, 1966 Next Century, Digital, 1985 Interface, Lithograph, 1986 Lover, Digital 1986 Picasso's Bullfight, Digital/Woodcut, 1989 Street Beat, Digital Oil, 1987 Fleeting Love, Revolving Fan/Surgical Gloves, Photo, Glasses, Penlight, Oral Cotton Rolls, 2 lb. Fishing Line, 1987 Nuclear Moon Glow, Digital/Serigraph, 1986 Outpost, Digital, 1986 Painting on Location, Digital Oil, 2003 Pink Tidal Lights, Digital Giclee, 2003 Portal to Cyberspace, Oil on Canvas, 1997 Go With the Flow, Oil on Canvas, 2003 Assembly, Oil on Canvas, 1986 Karl Lilje Born in 1972. Living in Cape Town, South Africa, Lilje takes famous photographs and pixelates them using software. Adam Connelly "I was born in 1974, in Ann Arbor, Michigan and lived there for sixteen years". " I have a BFA from UC Santa Cruz where I studied painting, printmaking, and photography, graduating in 1996. Since then, I have worked as a graphic designer with companies such as Sega, Pixar, CNET, and Apple Computer". "Specializing in interactive and motion graphics work as a designer has directly influenced my artwork". "It compelled me to examine where the borders of the digital and the analog world meet, and how social, cultural, and ideological trends are shaped by technology and art". Adam Connelly's was much different to other pixelist artists. What he did was take Pornographic pictures and pixelate them so you couldn't see the picture very well but you are still able to see what the image really is. This is his own website which i found, http://www.adamconnelly.com/gallery/index.html Patrick Egarter Patrick Egarter is the best pixelist artist i have researched so far, he makes pixel pictures by using paint, he makes his art in the same way a pointillist artist would make there artwork. His work takes hours and hours to complete and because of this there are no images of his work, only thumbnails. His work is shown by video, he films himself creating his work. This is Vimeo account were all of his videos are. http://vimeo.com/user2571043