July 2009 News

Last week was the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 crew returning back to Earth.

Therefore, we want you to create a scene showing what happened on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission while the cameras were off; what did we not see? What did the astronauts not tell us about?

Be creative - your scene does not need to be entirely realistic (in fact it can be downright ridiculous if you want). For example, you could pixel a scene where Neil Armstrong is sitting on the moon's surface with a laptop and logging onto Pixel Joint.

Don't forget to check out the Apollo 11 Wikipedia article for further information on the moon landing.

Canvas Size - Max 120 x 180. Either horizontal or vertical.
Colours - Max 36. Use only colours from the palette provided below, you may use transparency. Colours are taken from this image.



Transparency - Optional.
Animation - Optional.

The challenge thread will have all the challenge updates. The thread is also a great place to post your WIPs.

This week you are to create an animated avatar. The subject matter can be anything you want.

Canvas Size - Exactly 64 x 64.
Colours - Unrestricted.
Transparency - No.
Animation - Required. At least 16 frames; each frame must be unique. The animation should loop seamlessly.

The challenge thread will have all the challenge updates. The thread is also a great place to post your WIPs.

"Google Inc., owner of the most- visited Internet search engine, is developing a computer operating system based on its Chrome Web browser, taking aim at Microsoft Corp. in its strongest market.

The system will be designed at first for low-cost laptops called netbooks, Google said in a blog post. The company is in talks with partners on the project and computers running the software will be available in the second half of 2010.

The plan escalates Google’s rivalry with Microsoft, which extends to Web search, browsers and business applications such as word processing and spreadsheets. Windows, Microsoft’s flagship product, runs about 90 percent of the world’s personal computers. Google is also trying to spur Web-ad sales after reporting its first sequential revenue drop as a public company.

“There is a possibility that the new OS can break the paradigm Microsoft and Intel created over the past 20 years,” aid Yukihiko Shimada, a computer analyst at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Co. in Tokyo. “There is plenty of business opportunity for Google in this market.”

Google said it’s working with computer makers to introduce a number of netbooks next year, without identifying any of the companies. The Chrome OS will be open-source, meaning the program code will be open to developers, Google said. The software will work on top of the Linux operating system."

News sourced from http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aMhGHdEO.gEw          I thought it would be nice to share it with everyone else. Hopefully this new Operating system will be able to get up high enough in the market to be as openly avaliably as Microsoft's Windows Vista/7.

GrafX2, a free, multi-platform bitmap image editor designed from the ground up for pixel artists, is having a birthday! This month marks its 13th year. To celebrate, and to build awareness for the project, the developers are asking the pixel community to create and submit art made with GrafX2.

Read the full post...

The following pixel artists produced Pixel Joint's top rated pixel art for June 2009. Many thanks go out to this month's top pixel artists and all the members who took time to rate.

Scratch my back, would ya'? by Fool

Book's covers by Fool

Hobo Heaven by Peach

open your eyes by alkaline

Team Fortress 2D by Gas 13

MMX9 Concept mockup by Snake

toof fairy by st0ven

Elk's Ark by Elk

Nostalgia's Mirror by Elk

Our best pilot is a pig?! - Weekly Challenge by JinnDEvil

Create a scene using tall pixels that in some way depicts the giant lumberjack, Paul Bunyan. Remember, tall pixels mean that every pixel is twice the height of a regular pixel. Example of tall pixels.

The grid below has been provided to help you place your tall pixels. Feel free to modify it to suit your canvas size.

From challenge winner Kaiseto comes this week's challenge. Create either a 1/2 body or a 3/4 body portrait of a character that could be used during a dialogue sequence in a game. Some examples of this are shown here (Clockwise from top left: Disgaea, Disgaea 2, Prince of Persia: The Fallen King, The World Ends With You). Remember, the bottom-right image is an example of what not to do.

The character can be anything as long as it is capable of speech. The pixel art should be the character only. Everything outside the character should be fully transparent.

You are to make a portrait that can be used with multiple dialogs; the expression must be suitable for all three of the dialogues listed below:

• I have lost my crystal, will you find it and bring it to me? 
• We don't have much time left to save the princess.
• I am thankful for your help in my quest.

Canvas Size - Max 180 x 240.
Colors - Max 32.
Transparency - Required.
Animation - Optional.

The challenge thread will have all the challenge updates. The thread is also a great place to post your WIPs.