From Analog to Digital
As an artist, I began working with traditional techniques, starting with pencil and ink. I then moved on to watercolor, ecolines, and gouache, and later, I tackled acrylics and oil. Gradually, as the digital era took over, I had to adjust myself to new skills, like Photoshop and Wacom. Ctrl + Z was sort of a revolution, and so were layers! I was excited to learn new things, work with new technologies, blend analog and digital media, experiment, and have fun!
However, at some point, I found myself missing the tactile experience of traditional art—the sound of the brush on paper, the smell of color tubes, and the magic randomness of color spreading on watered paper. But digital art also brought questions. My artwork had no physical manifestation anymore : it now consisted of millions of pixels that were stored on backup hard drives, storage units, and cloud servers, replacing the physical drawers that housed my paintings. Was my artwork “alive” only when my PS was turned on? Pixels were intriguing me.
Early Pixel Art
My first encounter with what we now call pixel art was around 1977, when I played my first video game, Combat on the Atari game machine. The simple yet addictive gameplay of those games defined an era. It’s incredible how pixelated graphics and straightforward mechanics created such engaging and memorable experiences. I still remember the excitement!
And what about pixel art? Pixel art, once born out of technological limitations, has evolved today into a celebrated art form that continues to captivate artists and audiences alike. Despite the advances in high-definition and 3D graphics—and perhaps because of them—pixel art remains relevant. Is it the retro charm and the nostalgia that take us back to our first gaming experiences? Well, for some, it sure is. Is it the creative challenge of the limited space and color palette that intrigues artists today and the “less-is-more” approach? Is it a minimalistic counter-reaction to the highly polished and maximized 3D renderings that bombard us from everywhere? And why is pixel art so cool? Click here to read what pixel artist Dmitry Petyakin, has to say.
And one day, I saw this image. Now tell me: Is cross-stitching the physical manifestation of pixel art or what?
Cheers,
Ersi
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