TzAR: Pixel Art Profiles #8 – Renato Marini, Myujii, Ed Marola
Kyle Flemmer profiles three pixel artists with especially colorful works included in the forthcoming Tezos Art Review (TzAR): Pixel Art Anthology.
It is perhaps an overgeneralization to say that pixel art is an exceptionally colorful medium, but I think you will find that in most cases this holds true. Of course, pixel art can have as few as two colors, like in 1-bit compositions, but every pixel in an image could be a different color, at least in theory. A small, 16 x 16 pixel area could feasibly contain 256 distinct colors, which is an 8-bit color depth. For context, the Super Nintendo has a 15-bit color depth, capable of displaying over 32,000 colors, though its memory can only store and use 256 of them at any one time. There is a direct connection between digital art of all kinds and the capabilities of the computer. The result is that pixel artists are empowered to specify colors from an immense range of possibilities but are usually limited to a couple dozen by the hardware and/or software they are using.
Color presents an interesting challenge for the production of TzAR: Pixel Art Review in that the RGB color space, the color gamut of any particular device, and the range of printable colors in CMYK are all very different. Unfortunately, the breadth and brightness of the original colors will be somewhat restricted in the printed book, so many of the artworks won’t look quite as vibrant as they do onscreen. Rather than a reason to avoid reproducing these artworks in print, the necessity of color conversion for various applications is an important reminder that “what you see is what you get” is not always true with digital art. Choice of screen, software, and medium all have tangible impacts on color.
“The artists featured here in Pixel Art Profiles #8, like most pixel artists, show a keen awareness for the significance of color in their work. These three artworks are all especially colorful and tackle the subject of color head-on. Enjoy!”
Renato Marini
Broken Art Provider by Renato Marini, minted April 1, 2024
Artist statement: “I have a classic approach with pixel art. I like to mix optical illusions with abstract animations and glitch elements into seamless loops. I think that pixel art is also a sort of discipline that forces the artist to compose with defined limits and evaluating the message he wants to deliver.”
Myujii
floating_colorfall by Myujii, minted June 26, 2023
Artist statement: “In my digital artworks, I aim to depict a realm as ancient as time, yet as modern as tomorrow—ranging from conscious sidereal beings to structures and devices crafted from ancient stones and futuristic technologies.”
Ed Marola
Dream all colors by Ed Marola, minted December 30, 2022
Artist statement: “I believe the starting point is the nostalgia of a pre-internet state of mind, a reminder of a brief moment when the XXI century showed its face yet we were still in a different era. Then the pixel took its own language, as an atomic entity of visual technologies. The sharpness of the square, the low resolution. To me the pixel holds a specific poetic force that draws me in every time.”
TzAR: Pixel Art Anthology will be published by The Blasted Tree Publishing Co. in August 2025. Stay tuned for more Pixel Art Profiles in the coming weeks as we prepare the book for publication!