This page features a collection of articles and essays by pixel artist Jude Buffum, an award-winning illustrator and designer with more than 20 years of professional experience in commercial art and design. As part of the first generation raised on 8-bit video games, Jude explores pixel art as both a craft and a cultural language.
Topics range from pixel art history and critique to practical tutorials, art direction insights, and guidance for brands and creative directors looking to hire a pixel artist. Each article is grounded in real-world experience across games, advertising, branding, and editorial illustration, with the goal of helping readers better understand the pixel art medium and its cultural relevance.
Pixel Art Articles and Essays by Jude Buffum
Pixel Art Illustration: An Art Director's Guide to Branding, Editorial, and Advertising
Pixel art is often dismissed as retro decoration, but in the right hands it becomes a strategic tool. This guide breaks down how art directors can use pixel art across branding, editorial, advertising, and interactive campaigns to build metaphors, anchor nostalgia, and create experiences that audiences instantly understand.
Who is the Best Pixel Artist?
A curated, opinionated breakdown of the most influential pixel artists working today, what each is best at, and how their work continues to shape the medium across games, animation, education, and commercial illustration.
The Best Pixel Art Logos of All Time (and what I’d do to make them even better)
Pixel art logos were drawn small but had to act big. Hardware limits forced them into tight grids and limited palettes, but they were expected to roar onto the screen with the magnificence of a Hollywood blockbuster.
How to Hire a Pixel Artist
Hiring the right pixel artist can make or break your project. Learn what to look for in portfolios, questions to ask, and how to avoid costly mistakes when bringing pixel art into your brand, game, or campaign.
How to keep your pixel art crisp in Photoshop
Photoshop isn’t built for pixel art, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get crispy results. These three quick setting tweaks will keep your pixels clean, sharp, and blur-free.
Top Ten Things New Pixel Artists Should Know
If you're new to the medium, here are ten things that can help you build a strong foundation and develop your own style without picking up a ton of bad habits along the way.
The Best Pixel Art of All Time
I’ve loved pixel art ever since I put my first quarter into the Donkey Kong arcade machine. In this chronological journey, I’ll guide you through what I believe are the ten most important games in the evolution of pixel art.