pixelated

A truly epic video game relies on many factors to deliver a compelling experience, but the artistry behind the fancy graphics remains one of the most fascinating aspects of them all.

The 2012 "Into the Pixel" exhibition, hosted by the Entertainment Software Association and the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, celebrates the breathtaking scenes and unforgettable characters created by the often under-appreciated game artists who influence the design of popular video games. A jury of 10 representatives from the video game and art industries chose from a large pool of entrants and came up with 16 original works from games including Journey and Mass Effect 3. … Read more

The original PhotoToaster ($1.99) was already a favorite among photo app users, and I've had a chance to check out a demo of PhotoToaster 3.0, which adds several new features to make the app an even stronger image editor.

New lighting adjustments and presets Several new one-touch presets have been added in the latest version including Clarify, Amplify, Bleach Bypass, Sketch, Dynamic HDR, and Dramatic. Each of the new effects I tried in my testing added even more options for playing with your images, and -- like the original -- you have the option to use sliders … Read more

Cool filters, effects, and frames without the emphasis on sharing them with everyone you know is what you'll find in Pix: Pixel Maker for Android.

The app features 30 filters (which you can combine, more on that later), 24 effects, and 16 frames. If you're not sure where to start with a photo, there's even a random button to get your creative powers going. Additionally, you'll be able to save your photos in full resolution, for free. Here's how to get started:

First you'll want to take a photo or choose … Read more

Visits to two Apple stores on Friday confirmed my Apple Shiny Slab Theory. That is, some consumers, deep down, don't really know why they buy the newest Apple thing.

After attending a meeting in Hollywood on Friday, I stopped by an Apple store down the street in Century City (aka, Beverly Hills) and another in Santa Monica. I estimate I spent more than two hours total in those two stores.

My intention was not only to try to gauge the level of interest in the new iPad but also to form (I hoped) a bulletproof rationale for upgrading from … Read more

It's a bird, it's a plane...it's a bunch of pixels?

Superheroes and villains from some of the most beloved comic and sci-fi franchises are the focus of "Pixel Heroes" by artist Pahito.

This elaborate piece features 78 legendary characters immortalized in stylish low-resolution pixel form, arranged in no specific order. It is amusing to see some of my favorite friends and foes from X-Men, Batman, and "Star Wars" in glorious low resolution.

Pixel Heroes is available in various print sizes, ranging from a miniature 8x10-inch portrait, at $22, up to a large 21x28-inch masterpiece, conservatively priced at $45. The collection of caped crusaders and masked marauders is available on hoodies, T-shirts, framed art, stretched canvas, iPhone and iPad cases, and laptop skins (Mac and PC).… Read more

Onscreen rulers definitely belong in that class of PC tools that are useful enough to keep around but all too often overlooked. A Ruler For Windows (AR4F) is a free onscreen metric ruler that offers attractive skins and handy keyboard commands. It toggles into a reading guide, a straight bar for distinguishing fine lines of print and closely spaced text.

AR4F's default skin is an attractive wood-grain look. It's ruled for millimeters and marked every 100mm. A red line displays its position on the ruler, allowing for easy readouts of fine measurements. AR4F is easy to resize via … Read more

One of the pesky fragmentation issues Android programmers must worry about is different screen sizes.

With resolution changing from one phone to another, programmers have to figure out exactly how much room they can devote to icons, photos, video game backgrounds, dialog boxes. But, Google argues, paying the price upfront pays programmers back in the long run--and helps them avoid the fixed-resolution difficulties that afflicted Palm.

Indeed, even before the first Android phone hit the market, Google had set on an approach designed to accommodate not just different pixel resolutions, but also pixel densities--the number of pixels per inch. Android … Read more

Most people have at least experimented with Paint, the built-in--and rather basic--graphics painting application that comes with Windows. Although the best that many of us can do with Paint is to create Kindergarten-caliber artwork, there are actually skilled artists who use these types of programs. If you're one of them, mtPaint might be worth checking out. It's not the most intuitive program we've ever seen, but it packs a lot of useful features for both creating and editing works of digital art.

The basics of mtPaint's interface are fairly intuitive, with a color selector down the … Read more

Paper Camera offers up a unique photography experience using a cute interface to produce simulated hand-drawn results, but you'll need to select your shots carefully. The interface looks like a camera made from paper (appropriately), with hand-drawn arrow buttons for switching effects; controls for contrast, brightness, and line weight on the right side; and a save button in the lower right. You have the choice of taking shots directly with your iPhone camera (showing the effect in real time) or selecting an image from your photo library.

Paper Camera is a neat concept, but in addition to requiring you … Read more