 Who are you? Where are you based? My name’s Ryan and my online pixel art handle is PXLFLX. I’m currently in the Richmond Virginia area of the United States. When and why did you first start making your art? I’ve been doing art since I was a little kid before I could write. I saw my older brother draw a comic and that inspired me. For the pixel art I started almost 10 years ago now when I was working on a flash video game. The software I was using required pixel art for it to look clean so I had to force myself to learn it. What inspires your artwork? I wear my inspirations on my sleeve. I’m a child of the 80’s so things like old Saturday morning cartoons, classic Disney and Warner Bros. animations, Star Wars was huge, and bronze age comic books from DC and Marvel and what came after into the 90s and early oughts. The original Nintendo Entertainment System’s games with large sprites like Punch Out and the cut scenes from Ninja Gaiden are a huge influence on my pixel art. I’m also inspired by certain manga and anime such as Beserk and Studio Ghibli productions. To many to name them all.  Do you remember the first piece you made? I can’t remember the first artwork I ever did, but my first pixel art was of my original character for my first video game Mr. Pig. What's the biggest piece you've ever made? I’ve painted some rather large murals. Probably my biggest pixel art design was for a commission for someone’s video game. It was a snake with a kind of Egyptian science fiction theme for a shooter I think. It was huge, so big I could barely call it pixel art.  What is your art workspace like? It’s a mess and spread all across the house. I have a draft table where I mostly do miniature painting, an old computer where I do my of my pixel art and animations, a newer computer where I do graphic design and some pixel art, and I draw in sketch pads where ever and when ever the urge strikes me. What are the tools of your trade? For my pixel art and animation I use adobe photoshop almost exclusively and I do that with a mouse. For drawing I like Bristol board and mechanical pencils, and for painting my go to is illustration board and acrylic paints. What's the most time you've spent on a project? Probably the most time I’ve spent on one project was the Marvel pixel battle animations I did for Marvel Entertainment. I worked on those for a little over a year and half. Can you talk us through your creative process? How do you go about planning and creating a piece? It’s kind of hard to say and it’s different depending on what I do. I usually wait for some inspiration to strike me and it feels like something I can fun with. I usually work on something in my imagination for a while before I actually start working on it so I usually have a pretty good idea of what I’m going to do. I use a lot of references and experiment with different ideas. I’ve always had a knack for recreating things that I look at, people used to call me a Xerox machine in art class. What are the most common questions you get asked about your art? For my pixel art and animation people always ask me what program do I use, and how long did it take. Have you had any art-related disasters? Sure, I’ve had several. I think my most memorable one was when I was in college and I needed to get to an art history class I was in a rush and I also needed to cut some matte board for framing designs for a typography class that day. I was using an exacto blade and being in a rush I slipped and cut the tip of my finger almost all the way off. It was just hanging on by a little bit so I rushed to the hospital which luckily wasn’t that far from where I was living at the time and they mended me up the best they could. It was quite dramatic! Do you have a dream project you'd love to make, but just can't justify yet? So many dream projects so little time. I would love to make a video game of my own – rpg, platformer, shooter, you name it. I’ve wanted to do long form animations for a long time but these things take so long. Even a short animation can end up taking way longer than you would think so it’s pretty hard to justify.  What was your most recent project? For client work I did album cover art for a chiptune artist. Unfortunately I have been to busy with graphic design to do any pixel art commission work for a while now. My most recent personal project was recreating the opening fight scene from the 90’s cartoon Batman the Animated Series in pixel art animation form. What are your favourite experiences you've had as a result of your art? I got to live out a few of my childhood dreams and worked with some of the biggest companies in the world. I always wanted to work for Marvel and Disney as a kid and I got to do both which was really cool. Do you have any projects in progress or in the pipeline right now? I have a bunch of projects in progress. I have a hard time on focusing on just one so I do a little at time on different projects to keep a variety of things going on. Do you sell your art? If so, how can people find it? I have a pretty cool storefront on Teepublic with commercially licensed fan art and original designs. https://www.teepublic.com/user/pxlflx How can people find you online? Drop your social media handles, websites etc... Just search PXLFLX all over the web: https://www.instagram.com/pxlflx/ https://www.youtube.com/user/PXLFLX Anything else to share? Shoutouts, words of wisdom etc? I would say if you are interested in art go for it but try to remain true to what you want to do and not what you think other people want to see. It needs to be fun for you or there’s really no point. As I said I was lucky to live out some of my dreams, but sometimes I think dreams are better as just that and it might not be all it’s cracked up to be. Avoid burnout at all costs and if you can find a way to do art for yourself go for it. Doing art for others can be good for some people but for me it just ended up feeling like work with no soul to it where a lot of things end up compromised. Do what you want to do!
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 Who are you? Where are you based? I am Valentina, a.k.a. Lost In Pixelation, and I am an Italian based in Copenhagen, Denmark. When and why did you first start making your art? I have always been crafty and I love experimenting with new things and mediums. I started playing with beads in 2019, when I purchased a bit tub of the IKEA ones to use with my daughter, as she was using them in kindergarten. We really ramped up production of small ornaments at the beginning of the pandemic and I realised I loved the act of placing the beads on the pegboard and counting them on the pattern – I found it very therapeutic in a very turbulent time. Since then it has been become my main creative outlet and stress reliever! What inspires your artwork? A lot of my work gets inspiration from nature and art, especially stained glass. I love transforming cross-stitch into bead art. Do you remember the first piece you made? The very first one must have been a small Christmas ornament I did with my daughter – the first one with a bit more purpose would be a picture with a bit of motto of mine: “I’m not weird. I am limited edition”. It is 50cmx50cm and at the time it looked so huge and took such a long time!  What's the biggest piece you've ever made? It is probably the last one I made – a depiction of the four seasons I made for my daughter’s school.  What is your art workspace like? I normally work on the kitchen island, which is actually quite large. My tools and a small amount of all my colours are in a rolling storage that I can bring around. The big stash of beads is scattered around shelves and drawers in my home office. What are the tools of your trade? I work mostly with Hama beads, supplementing them with selected Artkal colours. While Artkal has a great selection of colours and the quality is better, I mainly stick to Hama for convenience (access and price are great for Hama in Denmark) and because I do not do a lot of shading (as I like the contrasting block of colours). I use a Perler straight tweezer which I absolutely adore – so much so that I own 5 pairs (just in case!). Then of course many many square boards and kilometres of masking tape. I have recently experimented ironing with the clear film from Artkal: it is nice because it is very large and let you see through the level of melting (it makes also the beads shiny, but I normally hide that side!). Finally, my beloved Easypress2 from Cricut for ironing – a recent gift to myself. What's the most time you've spent on a project? I am not sure to be honest – I tend to work on my pieces in the evening after my daughter goes to bed, so I split my work over several days and I do not keep count of hours. Maybe the lampshade I made for my daughter’s room – it has over 70 stars and it took quite a bit to make all of them, also because it was quite repetitive. But the result is stunning if I may say that myself.  Can you talk us through your creative process? How do you go about planning and creating a piece? I usually do not make my patterns and instead I adapt cross-stitch patterns. So most of the preparatory work relates to the choice of colours to adapt my palette to the one of the embroidery threads. I pick pieces that speak to me and make me happy – I especially like things with a lot of colour!  What are the most common questions you get asked about your art? How can I make them so big, how do I iron them, and how do I find the patience to do them. Have you had any art-related disasters? Nothing major, mostly iron-related problems, especially as I started ironing big pieces (with a very cheap iron!). Do you have a dream project you'd love to make, but just can't justify yet? I would really like to make a very large mural for my corridor with banks of fish swimming towards the end of the corridor (where the sea is) – but I would also need to convince my husband about the vision What was your most recent project? A small sign saying “Santa stop here” for my daughter’s room.  What are your favourite experiences you've had as a result of your art? When I created my IG account I had no idea what that would entail but I was pleasantly surprised about the interactions I had and the wonderful artists I got to get in touch with. When people appreciate my pieces and tell me my work makes them happy that is just wonderful! Also, a high point has been to be featured on the official Hama IG account for my tropical fish piece.  Do you have any projects in progress or in the pipeline right now?
Nothing on the table at the moment, but I have a few ideas of what I would like to make… I have also a couple of commissions from family and friends to take care of. Do you sell your art? If so, how can people find it? I have not yet sold my work as I mostly made it for myself or as gifts, but if people would like to buy something they are very welcome to send me a message on my IG account @lost.in.pixelation How can people find you online? Drop your social media handles, websites etc... You can find me on IG: @lost.in.pixelation |
AuthorMy name is Iain and my addiction is making pixel bead art. My main inspirations are comics, video games and movies. Archives
May 2022
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