Maybe this will be of some help? http://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=35320.msg1028848#msg1028848

He details the technique here: http://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=35320.msg1029102#msg1029102

Someone posted a link to it over in the off-topic thread.

Considering how simple the model is, I think it'd be interesting if you tried to replicate the effect of the depth of the screen. I mean, cut out the screen portion from the model and then insert a single quad inside.

Err... this is hard to explain, so like this:


There is no shadow effect in place, I just used a very simple texture like so:


You may also be able to simplify it and extrude the screen into it, but I'm not sure if it would accurately replicate the effect.

Oddly enough, they seem to be broken by Adblock Plus(at least in Firefox). I had to whitelist wayofthepixel, and then they worked. Then I removed wayofthepixel from the whitelist, and they still worked! So ya...

I think the indie scene boom has definitely helped pixel art get a bit of extra spark. I think the mobile phone has also helped,  but now phones are getting to the point where they have the same resolutions as computers, but fit to a few inches of screen space... I don't think that sort of dpi is really suitable for pixel art. Not to mention most phones and such are able to render pretty capable 3D graphics now... the 2D phase just didn't last very long on the mobile market. Minecraft also, oddly enough, may have helped some with how popular it is, since it also allows players to create their own texture packs.

I think the definition of pixel art still varies wildly between communities and even who you talk to. Since there are no real restrictions anymore, people tend to make their own to define pixel art. Typically though you won't find the sort of stigma against various techniques. I think generally as long as you control your outcome on a pixel level people are okay with it.

On sites like pixeljoint you can see an obvious jump in quality between the older pieces and the newer stuff submitted... but can you really say the quality of pixel art in general has gone up? Nah. Pixeljoint as a site grew and attracted more artists. There's still pixel art probably as old as I am that is better than a lot of stuff you might find people making today. It just depends on the artist, not the community as a whole. Though I suppose as time has gone on with less restrictions and refining the genre, artists are capable of pulling off much more amazing pieces. Still, some old art from people like Henk Nieborg still looks amazing in my eyes.