Art

I suppose when taking symbolism too seriously it turns into stereotyping. Here I combined some of the state symbols of Texas ⭐️ into a 16 by 16 pixel character.
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I used a photo reference I took myself of my cat Aziz and tried to recreate a somewhat realistic piece in pixel art on a 32 by 32 canvas. The light is coming from the left and the cat is grounded by a shadow. I’m happy I could capture his cautious nature.
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I don’t put myself above tracing to better understand what I’m drawing. It’s a shortcut used by artists since the invention of the camera obscura, and known to be popular around the second half of the 16th century. It’s like with cheat sheets in school; not needed if you’ve written enough of them.
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Not caring so much about the final result doesn’t always bring greatness, but it brings results which may turn out to be great, or at least descent. Art is as much about the making as it is about showing what you made. Artists, great or not, ship.
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I remember The Man from U.N.C.L.E. as a great spy series from the early 1960’s, starring Robert Vaughn and David McCallum as American Napoleon Solo and Russian Illya Kuryakin. So I drew Solo in pixel art from reference. I haven’t seen it in ages, so I don’t know if it holds up to today’s standards.
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Art used to be an opportunity for self-reflection, art for art’s sake. With mechanical reproduction, art became a commodity, entertainment. With these immersive exhibitions and AI generative art, even the original is nullified. It’s entertainment for entertainment’s sake.

It is sometimes said that practice makes perfect, but a better saying is that practice brings improvement. This is even without a conscience effort—i.e. an art self-critique—to improve. In pixel art readability is always an issue, as with any stylized art. It often relies on shape and contrast.
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The funny thing is how much you need to compromise your art to keep a likeness if your canvas is only 32 by 32 pixels. Still, it IS possible to cram a whole scene into it, if you put your mind to it and squint a lot. I’ll be so happy once I’m able to do that.
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Another pixel portrait, building on some of the art fundamentals I refreshed recently, and really need to do more of to continue. Still using the 16 bit art nouveau palette, which I like a lot. More in the alt description.
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This is still a crude study of a master painting by a 19th century animal painter under the pseudonym “Raphael Olaria”, which I partially painted over with pixel art (256 x 173) on my iPad with a limited color palette called “16 color art nouveau."
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Here’s some simple fan art animation inspired by Leo Laport’s This Week in Tech show I made 14 years ago, and which still makes me jump for joy when I see it.

I suppose one has to start somewhere. My animal drawing is still lacking, especially of those long-haired breeds. Still, I gave it my best attempt. Maybe I need to study some master paintings.
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This one of 32 by 32 pixels took me several hours and two iterations to complete.
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Creating portraits in pixel art reminds how important it is to be mindful while making art, not to just follow a recipe or rely on what you’ve done before. Each artwork has to be intuitive at first, then more contemplative as you continue. Then take a break, and start again, using one’s intuition.

More creativity, I suppose?
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I suppose it’s good to try being creative…
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The Secret to Drawing Overwhelming Detail! by Stephen Travers Art on YT.

The main secret is to draw the effect of detail rather than detail itself.

Drawing from imagination is always a struggle for me, while for some it comes naturally, so it seems. Mind you, I used references, as is the smart thing to do. The hand is drawn mirrored, though, or it’s held on the other side of the head.

Doodling while watching YouTube videos. From my history:

• Make ‘Em Laugh, Somewhere Over The Rainbow, Heal The World, Do-Re-Mi, Day-o (Banana Boat Song), A-team theme, Mannix theme, Singing In The Rain, Eye Of The Tiger, The Avengers theme, Adventures of the Gummi Bears theme, Colors of the Wind

So I (sorta) took part in the March 2023 photo challenge of micro.blog. Only I didn’t take photos, but made sketches, mostly with pencil on paper. I did use the prompts. However, I didn’t always post on the appropriate day. Of course, I wasn’t included in the daily grid of photos.