Pixel Artist - Background

Background

A pixel artist is one of the new media artists that employs technology while also utilizing traditional media and art forms. They may have a fine arts background such as photography, painting or drawing but self-taught designers and artists are also able to accomplish this work. They are often required to employ imaging and a full range of artistic and technological skills including those of conceptual artists.

In digital imaging, a pixel (picture element) is the smallest piece of information in an image. The word pixel is based on a contraction of pix (for "pictures") and el (for "element"); similar formations with el for "element" include voxel, luxel, and texel. Pixels are normally arranged in a regular 2-dimensional grid, and are often represented using dots, squares, or rectangles. Each pixel is a sample of an original image, where more samples typically provide a more accurate representation of the original. The intensity of each pixel is variable; in color systems, each pixel has typically three or four components such as red, green, and blue, or cyan, magenta, yellow, and black.

Neuroplasticity is a key element of observing a many pixel images. While two individuals will observe the same photons reflecting off a photorealistic image and hitting their retinas, someone whose mind has been primed with the theory of pointillism may see a very different image as the image is interpreted in the visual cortex.