What is Isometric Pixel Art? I Tell You Now

Isometric Pixel Art, or IPA, is a kind of digital art which puts emphasis on the simplicity and economy of details, without sacrificing the overall general appearance of the objects themselves. IPA images are made up of many single computer generated blocks of the same size, known as pixels. In IPA, the objects are drawn on an isometric X-Y plane. Isometric means "of equal measure", so not much of perspective is involved when it comes to measurements. Overall, the main objective of IPA is basically to represent something that looks like it could come from the real world in a computer generated image form.

What I Found Out About Isometric Pixel Art
What I sought to find out about IPA is what makes it different from pixel art in general. What I found was that IPA strictly refers to near-isometric dimetric projection pixel art. Near-isometric because the angle used is 26.565 degrees rather than the usual 30. All other forms of pixel art (eg. top view, side view, perspective, etc.) are considered non-isometric pixel art. Therefore, IPA must always be drawn as a dimetric projection at a 2:1 pixel ratio for projection lines, and must never incorporate the theory of perspective.

What I Learnt About Its History

The term "pixel" was first published in 1965, in articles by Fred C. Billingsley of and was propagated within the image processing and video coding field for more than a decade before they appeared in textbooks in the late 1970s. It was only after this that pixels started becoming widely used as a form of graphics and art medium.

What I Learnt About Its Application
Pixel art, especially IPA, can be found in computer and video games, mostly but not necessarily older ones. Nintendo, GameBoy, Playstation, Atari are examples of well known incorporators of pixel art in their games. Pixel art has also been ported to cellphones, in their display and mobile games. Apart from digital use, many grphic designers and artists incorporate pixel art in their work. Its application is nearly limitless, ranging from t-shirt designs to logos.

Links of My Research
www.19.5degs.com/element/832.php
http://www.foveon.com/files/ABriefHistoryofPixel2.pdf
http://fadtastic.net/2007/01/25/character-design-for-mobile-devices/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixel_art
Picture is copyright 2006 - Kukan Studio & Rhys Davies - http://www.rhysd.com/tutorial/chapter5.html