History of Pixel Art : 5th century Byzantine Mosaic (MODEMS WILL DIE)

[questseeker]

There's also pixel art with bricks and tiles.
The low-res façade of the smaller church of the Monte Berico complex in Vicenza, Italy (mediocre photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/25262919@N04/2851072838/; in context: http://www.flickr.com/photos/netnicholls/2349437259/) is a nice example, with remarkably flush white and red blocks forming crosses and diagonals.

[skamocore]

@crab: yeah you're right, now that I look at it it is pretty crappy, I really rushed it. I just blackened the beak and foot, since I thought it would look better that way. Anyway 'tis gone now 

[skw]

Hahah, this is a wonderful topic, Helm!  I heard about them a while ago, but been reading this interview recently and this part drew my attention:

Using individual blocks of color to form a precise visual statement is a technique that dates back through the ages at least as far as 4th century Macedonia, arguably reaching its apex with the Christian mosaics of the byzantine empire eight centuries later. It is largely due to the impact of the pixel – that most basic unit of an electronic display – that these grid based pictures are enjoying a degree of uniqueness in the here and now.

If they only knew what we do nowadays!

Avatars were also popular: http://www.galenfrysinger.com/byzantine_mosaics_greece.htm.



I really like this one, it has interesting feeling to it achieved by the yellow to blue hue shift:



but couldn't find a higher res picture.  Is it in your album, Helm?

The image doesn't show up, skamo!

[Helm]

Ah, the olympic method! I really respect and enjoy the work of Superbrothers. I wish that dude would come back to this forum.

[skw]

Yeah, so do I.  Those pixel movies are very creative indeed!  As far as I know, he released a limited hardcover recently and is running a blog (all the links are somewhere in the interview).  Were he posting at Pixelation?!  Under what handle?

[Helm]

A long time ago, he posted a few times. I think he was 'superbros' or 'superbrothers' but his posts might be lost in the pre-pixelopolis days. Not sure . Anyway, imagine the impression he made on me that I remember him from these few sparse posts a couple of years ago or more, still.

[ptoing]

I think he used the handle onionhead on the old blue pix.

[crab2selout.png]

Looking at the art in that link, I think I remember the guy. He posted a western themed piece in the same style. God, that really was a long time ago. Definitely in the blue pix days if I'm thinking of hte right guy.

[Gil]

He posted a few pieces on Pixelopolis too. Awesome guy.

[HughSpectrum]

Yey! Interesting topic. I've been thinking about this as well and I've been looking for a mosaic that strictly follows a grid, but haven't found one yet, at least not one that'd be as old as these. Cross stitches however must by necessity follow a grid, so in that area we have some good examples of classic pixel art.

My mom does knitting with machines and patterns from time to time, which I think uses a grid as well.  I always think that I should make a pixel art and ask her to turn it to a shirt (we have the software and I think hardware to do so), but I never get around to doing so.