Pixel art

Pixel art is a type of digital image created with graphics software, using pixels as the sole building material. It is most commonly linked to the low-resolution visuals of 8-bit and 16-bit computers, arcade machines, and video game consoles, as well as other limited systems like LED displays and graphing calculators, which had few pixels and colors to work with. Despite the fact that technology has since moved past these constraints, pixel artists and game studios continue to use the style today.

Most pixel art also imposes restrictions on file size and the number of colors in its palette, whether due to software limits, a desire for a specific look, or to cut down on visual noise. Older pixel art often used smaller palettes, with some games made using only two colors (1-bit color depth). Because of these self-imposed limits, pixel art shares strong similarities with traditional restrictive art forms like mosaics, cross-stitch, and fuse beads.

There is no strict classification for pixel art, but a piece is generally considered such if each individual pixel was placed with deliberate thought. Standard digital artworks or low-resolution photographs are also made of pixels, but they are only called pixel art if the pixels were arranged with artistic intent, even if they are clearly visible or prominent.

The phrases "dot art" and "pixel pushing" are sometimes used as synonyms, especially by Japanese artists. The term "spriting" often refers to making pixel art elements specifically for video games. This concept likely comes from the word "sprite," used in computer graphics to describe a two-dimensional bitmap that can serve as a building block in larger scenes.

**Definition**

Pixel art is commonly set apart from other digital images when the pixels play an important individual role in the composition, usually requiring careful control over the placement of each one. When edited this way, moving a few pixels can greatly change the image. A common feature of pixel art is a low overall color count. As a medium, it mimics many traits of older video game graphics, which were produced by machines that could only display a limited number of colors at once. As images get higher in resolution, pixels become harder to tell apart, and the importance of their careful placement fades. The exact point where a piece can no longer reasonably be called pixel art is subjective.

**History**

**Origin**

Some traditional art forms, such as counted-thread embroidery (including cross-stitch) and certain kinds of mosaic and beadwork, are very similar to pixel art and could be seen as non-digital predecessors. These art forms build pictures from small colored units, much like the pixels of modern digital computing. Some of the earliest examples of pixel art can be found in analog electronic advertising displays, like those in New York City in the early 20th century, with simple monochromatic light bulb matrix displays existing around 1937. Pixel art as it is known today largely comes from the golden age of arcade video games, with titles like *Space Invaders* (1978) and *Pac-Man* (1980), and 8-bit consoles such as the Nintendo Entertainment System (1983) and Master System (1985). The term "pixel art" was first published in a journal letter by Adele Goldberg and Robert Flegal of Xerox Palo Alto Research Center in 1982. However, the practice goes back at least 11 years before that, for example in Richard Shoup's SuperPaint system in 1972, also at Xerox PARC.

**1970s**

Because of the severe restrictions of early graphics, the first instances of pixel art in video games were relatively abstract. The low resolution of computers and game consoles forced designers to carefully create game assets by deliberately placing individual pixels to form recognizable symbols, characters, or items. Simple avatars, such as spaceships, cars, or tanks, required minimal animation and computing power, while enemies, terrain, and power-ups were often represented by symbols or simple designs. Due to limited hardware in the 1970s, abstraction—as seen in *Pong*'s simple design—sometimes led to better game readability and commercial success than attempting more detailed representational art. Although computers had been used to create art since the 1960s and microcomputers were used in the late 1970s, and there are examples of digital art with a pixelated aesthetic, there is no well-known tradition of pixel art from the 1970s that distinguished between deliberate pixel placement or the aestheticization of individual pixels versus other forms of digital painting. For this reason, one could argue that pixel art was not a recognized medium or art form in the 1970s.

**1980s**

In what is sometimes called the golden age of video games or the golden age of arcade video games, the 1980s saw a period of innovation in video games, both as a new art form and a form of entertainment. During the early 1980s, video game creators were mainly programmers, not graphic designers. Technological innovation led to market pressure for more representational and "realistic" graphics in games. As graphics improved, it became possible to replace hand-drawn game assets with imported pictures or 3D polygons, which helped pixel art develop as a separate art form. Gradually, professional artists and graphic designers had a bigger impact on the video game industry.