Why I love PIXEL ART!

Pixel art is a funny thing when you think about it. Every single picture or video that you come across on your computer, laptop, phone, or television is composed of these little dots called pixels. They are incredibly small. Millions of them group up to form the display of your screen. You cannot notice the pixels in an image unless you zoom in because of their very small size. In pixel art, the images are edited at a pixel-level which makes them a lot more visible. You can even count them in some cases of pixel art.

Now, this is a gorgeous piece of animated pixel art. Even though you cannot spot the pixels individually in the above gif, you can almost feel their presence. Let's compare this with a non-pixel art drawing.

Notice the difference? The second picture feels a lot more smooth while the first one doesn't. That isn't to say that one is better than the other. Both are equally beautiful and spectacular.

The games of the 90s and 80s utilized pixel art. Nearly every game of those eras uses pixel art as their design and art component. While the models of the characters in the games don't have the same level of depth as today, these are the same characters we've spent our childhood with. Who cares if you can't figure out where their eyes and noses are. I remember when I first played The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past. A top-down pixel-art game that captured my heart and still holds the memories of my childhood captive even after all these years.

In the late 90s, the necessary advancements were made in the technological field that it was now possible to create 3D environments, characters, and effects. Thus, 3D games were now possible. Of course, many of the early 3D games laid the foundation for the modern gaming industry: who can forget the importance of DOOM, Wolfenstein, and Quake in the gaming industry. While the origins of first-person shooters can be traced back to Maze War in the early 70s, Wolfenstein 3D and DOOM were instant successes at the time of their releases and helped to popularise and make the first-person shooter genre more mainstream. Quake has played an immense role in the multiplayer aspect of gaming. In fact, the WASD control scheme - that is used in almost every game today can have its origins traced back to the multiplayer scene of this very game.

This is a gif from a game called Slain. It's available on Steam, and it has much more scenes and environments just like this one above. If that is not the proof of the eternal charm of pixel-art, I don't know what is. While you seldom see AAA games using pixel-art today, pixel-art has become the go-to art style for many indie developers entering the industry for the first time. The nostalgia that pixel-art induces is the frosting on this cake of beautiful pixel-art environments and landscapes. There are very few things better than a perfectly drawn and animated pixel-art landscape. This isn't to say that it's always better than any other type of art. Art in any of its forms has the potential to be breathtaking and amazing. It all comes down to the hand that is creating the art. The imagination, skill, and creativity of the artist moulds, defines and redefines his work.

This piece of concept art is from this game series called Mass Effect. It definitely ranks among my favorite video game series of all time. It has a great story and not only that, it has great concept art. And the above picture proves that. It is true that most if not all the AAA games today don't use pixel-art and that's not a bad thing. Our ability to improve our technology and hardware knows no bounds. We are hurtling towards the age of VR. Who would've guessed 30 years back that we'll arrive at this point of technological progression? Technology is being improved day-to-day and so is our ability to use and portray graphics.

Evolution is inevitable. Whether it be technological or natural, at one point its bound to happen and no one can stop it. Pixel-art ruled 30 years ago, and although it's been removed from its throne, it still retains the charm and amazement that it had 30 years ago. And if I were to bet on it, I'd say that it will be here to stay for a long, long time.

NOTE: Please follow and support the artists who created the pixel-art that was used for the purposes of this article. The first image of pixel-art waterfall is by isohei, you can check it out on DeviantArt here.

The second image of waterfall was created by skybot, you can check it out on DeviantArt here.

The third gif is taken from a game called Slain, you can check it out on Steam here.

The fourth and fifth images are conceptual arts and character arts of Mass Effect series and Wolfenstein series respectively.