Pixel

Pixel is a webcomic written by Chris Dlugosz, first published on June 14, 2002. It is set in the aptly named "pixel universe", inhabited by pixels, voxels, vectors, plasmas (a satire on the plasma screens used by Apple computers), and polygons. The comic is known for its very literal sense of humor, and its constant breaks of the fourth wall. The text of the comic is written entirely in upper case with very little punctuation other than the occasional hyphen or exclamation point. Each comic comes with a short note, usually split into three lines at seemingly arbitrary points. These are also written in capitals with no punctuation, and usually explain or expand upon the strip. Material from Pixel is included in Attitude 3: The New Subversive Online Cartoonists. Development Chris Dlugosz initially started Pixel in 2002 as a response to sprite comics, which were proliferating at the time. In an interview in 2006, Dlugosz stated that he began posting Pixel as a "casual gag" to make fun of the sprite comic genre, and that the logistics of his Pixel universe expanded over time. Dlugosz was primarily inspired by Calvin and Hobbes, which he described as "the sole reason [he] was not afraid to occasionally get rhetorical or philosophical in some of [his] own strips." Dlugosz was introduced to the webcomic format by Penny Arcade, which he also listed as an influence. His visual style, however, is entirely different, as the world of Pixel is populated with anthropomorphic geometric shapes. When creating a Pixel strip, Dlugosz always starts with the script, as he finds that text has "the annoying tendency to cover up much of your art." Meanwhile, he describes "interesting visual effects" as a "side hobby" of his. Dlugosz has a text file on his computer in which he keeps a list of ideas for new strips, though he noted that jokes that hit him spontaneously often make for better strips than those he thought about for longer periods of time. Dlugosz uses a template file, consisting of a blue block and a red block (pixels) standing in front of a green horizon and blue sky. He then uses a random number generator in order to produce two web colors with which to color in the two pixels, before entering the text and other effects.