Pixel - A pixel art documentary
May 24, 2010 8:25 AM Subscribe
An 11 minute documentary exploring the merits and impact of pixel art, animation and chiptune music. From the Simon Cottee Animation Production Blog. (via) [bonus]
I disagree with the thesis that
"....that in our search for re-creating nostalgia we have created a warped, crisp version"
...because those of us with PCs at 320x200 CGA/EGA/VGA mode could see the pixels on a monitor.
I did pixel art in the 90's for fun because I was imitating my favourite games like Commander Keen. I think this recent surge in pixel art is a mainstream absorption of users of the superior platform for creating this kind of art: 16 bit x86 PC's running DOS!
I am not sure of the role of Amiga in this.
Mac pixels were always too small for true pixel art. But the Mac excelled in 2 color (black and white) art.
posted by niccolo at 11:10 AM on May 24, 2010
"....that in our search for re-creating nostalgia we have created a warped, crisp version"
...because those of us with PCs at 320x200 CGA/EGA/VGA mode could see the pixels on a monitor.
I did pixel art in the 90's for fun because I was imitating my favourite games like Commander Keen. I think this recent surge in pixel art is a mainstream absorption of users of the superior platform for creating this kind of art: 16 bit x86 PC's running DOS!
I am not sure of the role of Amiga in this.
Mac pixels were always too small for true pixel art. But the Mac excelled in 2 color (black and white) art.
posted by niccolo at 11:10 AM on May 24, 2010
Er, when I go to the Youtube link, Avast pops up a trojan warning. Is it just me?
posted by New England Cultist at 1:33 PM on May 24, 2010
posted by New England Cultist at 1:33 PM on May 24, 2010
I have been thinking about this aesthetic for about the last seven-or-so years and I'd say this documentary is a fairly decent summation of it. Eventually, I'd wager, we'll probably see some type of full length documentary that attempts to cover the whole "scene". I like when Jason Rohrer talks about the blurriness of 8-bit sprites and, as a child, not really being able to fully interpret what some objects were supposed to represent. I think there's a lot to work with inside of that realization.
Still, though, when I see this type of art I get a kind of 'I can't quite put my finger on it but you're doing it wrong' feeling in my gut. Oh well. It'll make more sense as time goes on. Thanks for the post.
posted by coolxcool=rad at 2:55 PM on May 24, 2010
Still, though, when I see this type of art I get a kind of 'I can't quite put my finger on it but you're doing it wrong' feeling in my gut. Oh well. It'll make more sense as time goes on. Thanks for the post.
posted by coolxcool=rad at 2:55 PM on May 24, 2010
For somebody who knows nothing of any of this stuff, that was pretty great. Thanks.
posted by Rykey at 3:58 PM on May 24, 2010
posted by Rykey at 3:58 PM on May 24, 2010
My family had a monochrome Mac Plus when I was growing up, so I did most of my pixel art with graph paper, colored markers, and copies of Nintendo Power magazine. Lots and lots of Ninja Gaiden ripoffs. This video should be hitting all the right nostalgia buttons for me but there's something incredibly fussy and joyless about Rohrer's work that makes me cringe.
posted by migurski at 7:51 PM on May 24, 2010
posted by migurski at 7:51 PM on May 24, 2010
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And in that one sentence you have summed up a 1/4th of Art History and fashion
posted by The Whelk at 9:06 AM on May 24, 2010