Pixel Art Gets a YouTube Documentary [VIDEO]

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In the video, Cottee interviews notable pixel artists like the creator of the brilliant art-house video game Passage and mixes those interviews with glimpses of some gorgeous works in the currently-niche-but-growing movement.

The practitioners of pixel art turn the digital art clock back 20 years by electing to use only a palette of colored pixels — the same limitations that technology imposed on early digital artists who made (among other things) 8-bit and 16-bit video games in the '80s and '90s.

The movement has a cousin in a musical genre called chiptunes, whose musicians employ the same chip boards that are used to synthesize sounds on video game consoles to make music. Both the pixel art and chiptunes movements rely strongly on nostalgia, but while that reliance could be the basis for unfavorable criticism, Pixel points out that childhood nostalgia has played a part in the works of many respected traditional artists.

The documentary also shows that artistic movements that favor a medium or aesthetic's most basic elements have popped up time and time again, so pixel art is not unprecedented.

Pixel art and chiptunes music have been popping up all over the place lately. Animator Patrick Jean created a viral video depicting pixelated monsters destroying New York City, two lovebirds made 8-bit wedding invitations, an annual chiptunes music festival called Blipfest draws big crowds and even (comparatively) well-known electronic music artists like Crystal Castles have adopted the chiptunes aural aesthetic.

Watch the documentary below, then check out the other examples of pixel art and chiptunes that we've included.

Pixel — A Pixel Art Documentary

Rule by Simon Cottee

Passage: Gameplay Walkthrough

Crystal Castles - "Crimewave"

Blipfest 2007: "Nullsleep"

The Incredible Adventure: 8-Bit Wedding Invitation

PIXELS by Patrick Jean (New York Gets Destroyed)

[via Boing Boing]