The humble pixel has come a long way from just displaying our favourite computer game characters and has started to make it out into the real world. Pixel art is not new but it is something that I have always found interesting as little mosaics spring up in the strangest of places.
I think the first time that I became aware of pixel art was when I found out about an artist called Invader. He is a French artist that drew inspiration from the classic Space Invaders game. He created mosaic space invaders and proceeded to put them up around Paris, this was the start of his invasion idea. He has since invaded cities all around the world.
The following images are examples of his work that can be found in many cities that you visit.
The idea behind Invader’s work is so simple but I find it intriguing, a surprise is probably the best way of summing up how it feels when you stumble across a piece.
You could quite easily walk straight past some of the space invaders, perhaps showing us that we don’t pay that much attention to our surrounding environment.
There are other characters from loved video games that get the Invader treatment and in many ways the mosaic style captures the characters perfectly.
As always there are people looking to push the boundaries of what can be done. I think the image below is a great example of how creative people can be. It might not be strictly pixel art but it does work on similar principals with grids but it has been taken to an extreme level of skill and patience.
I hope that you enjoyed this glimpse into pixel art and that you will keep your eyes open while wandering around your city as well as those that you visit as you never know what you might be missing by not looking up.
Do you know any pieces of pixel or street art that people miss all the time? If you could see any classic computer game character pixelised in a mosaic fashion who would you pick? Let us know in the comments section below.
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July 2, 2012
Games