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Doomguy
03.28.2016
Back in 2005, it was popular for artists on Pixel Joint to contribute nerd culture characters to the Wee Project. When I browsed the submissions, I noticed a glaring omission from its lineup: the Doom Marine. A few pixels later, I had an avatar that would grace my posts for over a decade!
This depiction is long overdue for an update, which I have finally addressed.
Keep the Bottlecap
02.22.2016
Outside of freelance work, I occasionally find the time to enter the weekly art contests at Pixel Joint, an online gallery for all things pixel (of which I am a moderator).
Last week's challenge celebrated the 25th anniversary of the classic game, Lemmings. The rules stipulated a limited palette, one derived from the original Lemmings sprite:
Lately, I've committed a healthy amount of time exploring the wastelands of Fallout 4. In fact, when I spotted a pack of cigarettes in the gutter my first instinct was to collect it, since I need the cloth to build beds for my settlers. The post-apocalypse is a tough place.
A pinup poster in the game caught my eye, channeling the vintage format to advertise a fictional soft drink. With its bold, simple layout and plethora of specular highlights, it suited the contest's required palette. Plus, the nuclear-waste green reinforced Fallout's setting.
Because I decided to enter the contest a few hours prior to its deadline, I had to finish the piece in a single sitting, which took 4.5 hours. I could have shaved off more time if I re-sized/indexed/traced the logo text instead of replicating it freehand, but cutting that corner felt antithetical to the spirit of the competition.
I tried to apply the campsite rule to the original, abandoning the standard Z-shaped composition in favor of something more customized to the elements. To keep the lines crisp, I made a conscious effort to use only one midtone at a time for anti-aliasing.