(click image to enlarge)
There were way too many characters in the original cartoon series to keep track of. These are the 20 that made an impression on me.
I don't have high hopes for the new movie but will check it out, hoping they've captured at least some of the fun the original show had. And I hope whenever a Cobra plane blows up, each badguy parachutes to safety. Well... Actually, I don't hope that.
(Copyright 2009 Sam Levine)
Okay. Saw the movie. Wasn't horrible. Enjoyed it a lot, though it was silly. Script tried to service too many characters with too many backstories, but at least they tried. It had depth - though it didn't really come across emotionally. But least it was there. Even liked Cobra Commander (accept for the very end - weird mask.... :/ I'll see the sequel...
ReplyDeleteSo did anybody die? ;)
ReplyDeleteLove your pixelated portraits. Amazing how little information it takes to communicate those iconic characters.
Those fish attacking my cursor is really creepy, Dude!
ReplyDeleteTons of people died in the movie. Not a great movie, but fun to watch.
ReplyDeleteThanks re: pixel portraits. They are fun to do. Will post more soon...
Hellooo...
ReplyDeleteI just stumbled across your blog and instantly got goosebumps when I saw these. Brilliant, and I can't tell you how happy they make me.
The very best part is that they're iconic for me on two levels - first, conveying these characters that I know so well in the simplest most evocative way possible. Like distilled, concentrated nostalgia. But the best part is they look like they're straight out of the early-AGI era computer adventure games by Sierra On-Line. Was that a conscious influence? Because these look like they could be character models straight out of those games. Perfect proportions and everything.
Yeah, these make me stoopid with happiness and I feel like I'm about 8 again.
Thanks Michael!
ReplyDeleteI'm really glad that my silly pixel art makes you happy. I really enjoy doing it - just too busy these days, but I promise to post more soon. I'm a big fan of character lineups - specifically color models. I think the artists that worked on these 70s and 80s shows had a great sense of clear and iconic design and are underrated.
Re: the Sierra On-line influence, I was a child of the 80s and mostly played C64 games (in addition to my Atari 2600). All those simple designs made a big impression on me. Bruce Lee was my fave.
When it comes to pixel art I just work intuitively - the shape and pixel count of each character are dictated by readability. The least I can get away with and have it still be clear.
There you have an almost scientific explanation of something very silly. ;)
Again, thanks and glad you dig it. I will do more!