Gonna try an old 2000-era forum discussion here. I have a question and I'm hoping for some longer answers than what Discord usually provides.

What kind of relationship do you people have with the limitations of pixel art? I mean everything from low resolution and low color count to choice of software and tools.

Do you see the limitations as obstacles that force you to be creative in order to overcome them and realize your vision (working against limitations) or does PA make you change your style and content to make the most of the medium (working with limitations)?

Personally I've been moving from the former to the latter and I often see pixel art that makes me ask "Why didn't you just choose a different medium". But I don't think one approach is better than the other, and I especially don't think that ever artist sits down and thinks about this (I rarely have). But if anyone has thoughts about this, I'd love to hear something like a pixel art philosophy.

TL;DR: Are you pixelling characters / animations / landscapes / mockups because they work well with pixel art and because limitations are instrumental to what you're trying to achieve, or is the subject / motif / vision more important than the medium?

I guess something like this:

1. Figure out what you think is cool right now.
2. Try to pixel it.
3. Realize you don't know how to do X, Y and Z.
4. Watch tutorials, look at references, ask people for advice.
5. Finish pixelling it.
6. Celebrate what you learned / struggle with your imperfection.
7. Repeat.

@lavendertgreat said in Pixel art and LGBTI+ community:

Lots of the LGBT community are brought together online where there is/was the availability of spaces where they aren't judged for being who they are. Pixel art is pretty online focused so there's a big overlap. You see it in other online communities too, lots of digital art, furry art, speedrunning and software developer circles have LGBT overlap, for instance.

Thanks, that's an interesting take! I've noticed it in gamer / streaming communities as well. I'm sure being able to create spaces without judgement (and block / ban people with bad behavior) is part of the explanation.

Thanks so much for this thread and all these recommendations! It's great to be exposed to new artists and reminded of old favorites.

Some of my faves right now are Yes I Do (@Contra_Bonos), Thu / Valerii (@849Kim), the Silent Artist (https://www.pixilart.com/thasilentartist) and gijotto (@gijothehydroid)

@nkoder said in Pixel art and LGBTI+ community:

I have only comparison to software development community in general, so it's not significant statistically in any means, but my thoughts are:

• software dev community expresses their support too, also especially during Pride, so I see no significant difference between that community and pixel art one
• pixel art is painting, painting allows to express things and is about whatever you want to paint, it's about any topic you wish, which might lead to higher visibility of support than in software development community which has more specific topics to discuss due to its field nature (like news about upcoming changes to React.js etc.)

Thanks! That's quite insightful. I do have to say that I don't think it's quite as visible in music, if I compare my favorite pixel artists with my favorite musicians, but I do think you're on to something. Maybe it's because pixel art is more individual. Also, there seems to be expectations of a shared identity between musicians and their fans (e.g. black metal), unlike in pixel art.

I'm not talking about expressing their support, I'm talking about the number of pixel artists who belong to the LGBTI+ community, being openly gay, transgender or whatever. But your point about individual expression and topic specific discussion makes sense, I wish I had thought of that.

EDIT: This will seem like a very obvious observation but if you look at, say, combat sports and compare the visibility of queer athletes (males vs females), it's a different story than pixel artists. And the same may be true for other fields of interest, like fishing or motor sports. I have no idea. My gf suggested that pixel art is mostly attractive to younger people, has weaker ties to tradition than other forms of art and that artists are generally more liberal and left-leaning, which I agree with. Those factors may be relevant.

This may be a ridiculous question but I am a curious (and ridiculous) person and so I'll go ahead and ask. If the mods want to delete this, I understand. In one sense, one's personal identity, gender and sexuality is irrelevant to the art, so I understand if some people don't understand why I'd raise the topic or don't feel this is the right forum to discuss it.

I've only recently joined Twitter and I'm seeing a lot of pixel artists who are proud members of the LGBTI+ community. I know it's Pride month, so it's a special time, but it does seem like it's unusually visible compared to other communities on twitter. I've seen a lot of pixel art depicting LGBT couples and individuals, I've seen the artists openly talking about their gender identity, their transition, etc.

Obviously, I'm all about positive, inclusive, pluralistic / multitudinous communities on the internet. I'm just curious if people A: think I'm reacting to something that is not particularly special about the PA community but is equally visible among musicians, cooks, athletes, authors, mountain climbers and whatever else, and B: have a hypothesis for why the PA 'community' (whatever that means) is special in this regard, if it is.