I've tried to put a little thought into this before posting, it's been going through my head a lot the last couple of days.

I think we can all conclude with one thing: Pixel art will not die. I have yet to see a single artform dissapear no matter how endangered it may be.

Now, I've read the suggestions that we need to promote Pixel art as an artform to preserve and educate. While this is a good idea in many ways, it's not as simple as that. Pixel art is in all respects a digital medium and can be regarded as the very basis of all digital art (that it's made out of the most basic part of digital visual media: pixels, and that it was the first digital media computers could produce. This includes text.) As many of you are aware, digital art is usually frowned upon by cometees of 'finer arts' unless its printed on a peace of paper or in physical form. If pixels are not shown on some sort of screen, the purpose and basis of the pixel piece shown is changed (meaning, for example, that it is no longer digital in the same sense). Also note that pixel art, like all the other art forms when they originated, is a practical art style. It was and still is made to do a job, be it to show icons on your PC or to show a character in a game.

Of course, putting a printout or a screen showing pixel pictures on display at, for example, a museum would help shed some light on pixel art, is it a good idea to let it evolve as an artform rather than an active tool? First of all, as I understand it we still don't have a pinned down set of ruled defining what exactly is to be defined as 'pixel art'. The view that the common man has about pixel art usually goes along the lines of: "a picture made of dots on a computer" or "what people use when the machine isn't good enough for 3d". It's a good idea to educate the common man, but if the view of pixel art shifts from computer generated art to a fine artform, then pixel art is going to evolve in that direction. If you were to make a large, grand pixel picture and put it up for display, it is going to look stunning. Personally however, I don't feel that this is what pixel art is meant for and partly the reason Digital painting was made.

But let's say that this is the direction that we take pixel art. I've had to learn and study modern art for 3 years as part of my general arts class, and modern artists have a tendency to stretch the borders quite a bit. There are artist that paint by hand single frames from comic books and show it off as something new due to the production method. If people start hand painting square tiles, is this still what we were hoping to show the world? One of the forms of art I loathe the most are the kind of people that paint large, messy squares on a canvas and go into endless elaborations of what it represents, how the strokes where made, why it was made and so on. This is not out of ignorance, I understand very well how and why this is done and the artist are, naturally, able to explain themselves. However, I do not like this art direction at all because it is art for arts sake. It is made by artists for artist and the only people that can judge them have to go through extensive learning to do so. So why am I mentioning this? Because that is the direction Pixel art might go if it is to be regarded as an artform by the general public. I do not want to see smeared ms Paint lines on display at some fancy house with some guy explaining that its his 'soul rage representing the horizon of hope'.

This i merely an example though. There are people who try to make graffiti an accepted artform and yet it's practitioners are still displaying it as an underground artform, keeping it alive. Personally, I would think that the best way to preserve pixel art is to have an open comunity where people are able to learn and display their pixel art, much like we do here. After all, the net is digital and so are pixels, few other artforms have it this convenient. The question that then commes to mind is: why would people still make pixels? Demand for pixel art will drop, that is a fact. Still, pixel art is still favored by indie gamers that create small scale or limited games. If there are people who are educated in pixel, then there must exist people that are willing to make something professional in pixel. If someone is able to stun another with a grand pixel piece, then interest and use of pixel will still be practiced, even if home consoles or local store PC games all become full 3d.

Well, that's some of the stuff that's been stored in my head about the subject. Might have messed up some of my explanation, but I'll leave you to make what you want of it.

And here it is:



3 things that I tried to explain with this tile:

Firstly, I've figured that the green tentacle thing had to be some creatures tail (1), the dragon type lizard is actually the grown up verson of the slightly smaller lizard in the middle of the island. As you can see, it's a mom too (2) Lastly, notice that the lizards grow darker and get bigger limbs as they mature. Then take a look at the big lizards hand. Look familiar? Grandpa is about to snatch himself a gnome on the right. (3)

I figure they're the gnomes natural enemy. Also made the first 'Knight gnome' (soon to be ripped apart I reckon *shrug*)

Had to match up 3 different ways of making rocks, and fitting a huge lizard in there with room for the kids was not easy. I guess the mountain extends at the back for that perspective to make sense. Was thinking of moving the eye that TakaM put on the mud monster/cave thing, but as it's not sure that we'll keep it, I just left it the way it was.

Well, enjoy and all.

Just noticed something: Why does everyone always make three vikings? Usually with one red being the leader.

We have it here, Kenneth has 'em, and I've seen it elsewhere several times before. Remains of Lost Vikings? They certainly added to make a viking stereotype, though the red guy is most likely the result of the only really international viking I guess. Erik the Red. Never mind, just thinking out loud.

Looks good so far, a few things to mention:

Like it's been said, the oars on viking boats came out though the hull itself, not on top. This only works on small boats because their edge is so close to the water. If you were to try and move a boat forward with an oar placed several meters above the water, it would hardly move at all and you would use most your energy just moving the oar itself rather than watermass. Of course, your boat isn't very large, the edges are still too tall for it to use oars this way and in any case the shields would get in the way Making the oar come through the side would make perfect sense since you've allready got your rower in the perfect position for it. (Though usually, slaves did the rowing on larger ships, we can say it's not big enough for that.)

Next, the waves on the sides really don't work that well the way they are now. Judging from the way you've made the water around the octopus, I would think that a single, wavy line would work better, but I can't say for sure unless I see it for myself.

Lastly, the outline needs some smoothing. I'm a bit puzzled about how the Kraken only has outlines at it's edges while the vikings and some of the boat has it everywhere.

I'll leave you to it then. Looks good so far.

Since no one has shown any interest so far, I could do 4, 6 and 7. I've just figured out how to explain a few more things on the island

TakaM: Nice vines. That flower is lookin' good.