Archipics: when digital art becomes pixel art
Retronator Artist Feature
There is an ongoing meta debate in the world of pixel art about what is and what isn’t pixel art. Many comprehensive tutorials will open with a discussion of raster and pixel art. I thought one particular artist, Arvey Yudi a.k.a. Archipics illustration, makes an excelent example of how the lines get blurred.
Arvey started his assault on the (pixel) art scene very recently. In May 2015 he posted an image of Venice that could have easily been mistaken for a vector drawing. However, Arvey’s weapon of choice is good old MS Paint.
As a refresher, vector images are resolution independent, with shapes described mathematically using software such as Adobe Illustrator or the open source Inkscape. Raster software (Photoshop, GIMP, Paint.NET, MS Paint etc.) instead treat images directly as a grid of pixels.
As Photoshop started including vector and anti-aliased tools, artists comfortable with Photoshop started creating works that would usually require the use of Illustrator, directly in PS. Such artworks are called vexel.
MS Paint however, doesn’t have vector paths. It doesn’t have anti-aliasing—you can clearly see the jagged diagonal lines and curves. Arvey’s work doesn’t look like other vexel art out there. Is it pixel art then? What’s going on here?!?
Although aliasing is very characteristic of pixel art, most people wouldn’t call Arvey’s early illustrations pixel art because not much attention is given to individual pixels.
A name you will often find floating on the web for such aliased style is Oekaki, which is Japanese for the act of drawing an image, but in this context refers to drawings done with online editors that have limitations similar to MS Paint.
Call it whatever you want though, the great thing about Arvey’s style is that it doesn’t need a name to look spectacular.
Western architecture is a clear subject of Archipics illustrations so it’s interesting to know that the artist actually comes from Indonesia. I mean, I can totally relate to the fascination with the world across a continent or two. Archipic’s depiction of the angled streets of San Francisco was in fact the first one to catch my eye on Facebook, speaking to me as a European immigrant to the Bay Area.
By this point you might have figured out where I’m taking you with this article, or better, where Arvey is taking us with his works. After 5 months and almost 50 pieces in his series, the vectors of Venice eventually got lost in the jaggies, rectangles, lineart and noise. Cue hashtag #pixelart.
With the castle painting, the resolution went down enough that the use of the same tools and the same technique touched enough pixels individually that even pixel purists wouldn’t have an easy time dismissing it as a pixel art work. The trees remain the last piece where they’d want more polish, more attention, more deliberation.
We are standing at the greyest area of our journey, but like I said before, pigeonholes can’t take the beauty away.
And just like that, the jump is finished. From here on, there’s hardly any doubt left. This is pixel art by most people’s definition.
The debate of what pixel art is (and isn’t) will go on. Webpages and Facebook groups will be created to include or exclude things depending on their particular flavor. That’s quite OK as it helps people get the best for their taste buds. Retronator Magazine isn’t an exception and you will find it on the welcoming side of change and related interests.
But let’s put the meta talk aside and enjoy the pixels.
I love when interdisciplinary artists bring a new perspective on pixel art, similarly to how Pixels Huh made its mark with Scenes. What Octavi Navaro does with storytelling, Arvey Yudi does with architecture.
His Archipics series has currently seen reworks of earlier works to adapt to where the path has taken him and the lessons he learned.
Just like when comparing drawings and pixels of Faxdoc, I’m fascinated at how good the latter is at getting the best out of artists.
Still, I have my favorites on both sides of the style and they’re all wonderful in their own ways.
In the end, I would simply love to see more of both. And whatever else Arvey will come up with.
If you loved what you’ve seen so far you can support Archipics on Patreon and follow his work on DeviantArt and Facebook.
Thank you once again for reading this magazine-like exploration of pixel art, gaming and saturated colors. This was supposed to be my November article, but I felt lazy over Thanksgiving break (read: Fallout 4 came out and Civ Beyond Earth was on sale) so time got the best of me. Therefore you will get two December articles, one down, one coming up!
Stay cool,
—Retro
