Fairchild Channel F graphics
Printed From: Pixel Joint
Category: Pixel Art
Forum Name: WIP (Work In Progress)
Forum Discription: Get crits and comments on your pixel WIPs and other art too!
URL: https://pixeljoint.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9100
Printed Date: 21 September 2025 at 9:56pm
Topic: Fairchild Channel F graphics
Posted By: saehn
Subject: Fairchild Channel F graphics
Date Posted: 08 September 2009 at 8:45am
|
These are complete---no longer in progress---but I wanted them to be my first contribution to PJ (if they're accepted). They're done within the limitations of the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairchild_Channel_F - Fairchild Channel F computer from 1976. Resolution is 102x58 pixels, aspect ration is approximately 4:3. There are some odd restrictions on color usage. There are three foreground colors (red, green, and blue) that can be used anywhere on the screen. There are four background colors (light green, light blue, and light grey), and these can only be used once per line. You can use black/white, but only on the same row. Here's the palette:  Here are my pictures:  "Yearning to Fly" "Fairchild Yus" - in tribute to Ptoing's Yus birds! (Edit: Ptoing/Helm) "Gappy Glowskull" "Space Crab in a Box" "Stayin' Alive"  "Channel F 2009"------------- http://noname.c64.org/csdb/scener/?id=8078 - saehn / http://www.style64.org - Style |
Replies:
Posted By: cure
Date Posted: 08 September 2009 at 8:48am
|
They'd definitely be accepted. My favorite is the winged eye. (sidenote: though usually associated with ptoing, yus is actually helm's character :P) |
Posted By: saehn
Date Posted: 08 September 2009 at 9:01am
|
Ah, thanks! Yes, I'd always thought of it as Ptoing's. Submitting the pics now...
------------- http://noname.c64.org/csdb/scener/?id=8078 - saehn / http://www.style64.org - Style |
Posted By: KittenMaster
Date Posted: 08 September 2009 at 9:04am
|
This is a sexy palette, but I still haven't quite grasped the limitations. For example, you say the background colors can only be used once per line, but I'm clearly seeing them being used more than that per line. The limitation on black & white isn't so clear to me either. |
Posted By: saehn
Date Posted: 08 September 2009 at 9:54am
|
OK, I'll try again. Here are the possible colors that you can have on each of the 58 rows: red, green, blue, light green red, green, blue, light blue red, green, blue, light grey black and white Does that explanation make more sense? By "rows", I'm referring to horizontal lines. All my pics meet these requirements... they have to, in order to display on a real Fairchild Channel F! :-) ------------- http://noname.c64.org/csdb/scener/?id=8078 - saehn / http://www.style64.org - Style |
Posted By: KittenMaster
Date Posted: 08 September 2009 at 10:00am
| That makes much more sense, thank you. |
Posted By: A.B. Lazer
Date Posted: 08 September 2009 at 12:49pm
|
Channel F games had very blocky and undetailed graphics. Production run of the console was very brief and I always wondered what programmers would make it do if only it survived some longer (Atari 2600 started to get the face we know only after 3 or more years of existence).
Are there useful information on limitations for real, moving games? It would be handy in doing mockups. |
Posted By: saehn
Date Posted: 08 September 2009 at 1:46pm
|
I'm in touch with a Fairchild Channel F programmer who is going to put
these images in a slideshow program that will run on the FCF, so
they'll definitely "work" in a practical sense as well as being
theoretically accurate to FCF graphic specs. If you PM me your email
address, I'll put you in touch with him. In the meantime, here's the
FCF programming Wiki: http://www.veswiki.com/Main_Page ------------- http://noname.c64.org/csdb/scener/?id=8078 - saehn / http://www.style64.org - Style |
Posted By: Hatch
Date Posted: 08 September 2009 at 2:20pm
|
These are really nice. Just when you think you've seen all of the masochistic spec restrictions...
Only issue I see is some light banding on the skull, especially around the eyebrows. EDIT: also on the skull, I think the green being used to AA from red to blue doesn't work at all (if that is indeed its purpose). ------------- |
Posted By: saehn
Date Posted: 09 September 2009 at 7:42am
|
Thanks Hatch, you're right about green not working as AA... that was one of the earlier pics. After I realized the AA issue with later pics (the eye and bird), I simply didn't go back and fix the skull. That one isn't exactly my favorite anyway. :-)
------------- http://noname.c64.org/csdb/scener/?id=8078 - saehn / http://www.style64.org - Style |
Posted By: vampireslug
Date Posted: 11 September 2009 at 5:44am
|
I'm a big fan of restricted palettes and this is just plain sexy as hell. I have a Channel F in the box but I have no games for it so I've never turned it on... it's good to see the first cartridge based gaming system hasn't been forgotten. Great job! ------------- "The Earth starts to rumble, world powers fall. A 'warring for the heavens, a peaceful man stands tall...." - Mustaine. ©1992 Screen Gems/EMI |
Posted By: saehn
Date Posted: 12 September 2009 at 4:29pm
|
Check it out, here are the other contest entries... I especially like the black and white space scene:
------------- http://noname.c64.org/csdb/scener/?id=8078 - saehn / http://www.style64.org - Style |
Posted By: KittenMaster
Date Posted: 12 September 2009 at 6:33pm
| Space Crab in a Box looks so much better in that video, likely due to aspect ratio. Definitely voting that. |