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Joe Lacey

ILLUSTRATION BLOG

Pixter 8-Bit Pixel Art

3/15/2021

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Fisher-Price PIXTER video hand-held game black and white unit and packaging
8-bit grandfather clock with mouse
Time to talk about Pixter, the hand-held Fisher-Price creativity system; a digital art studio, music machine, camera, and video game console all in one. Manufactured from 2000-2007, Pixter is the first and only handheld gaming console produced by Fisher-Price. It's also the first digital touch screen toy for kids, making it an important addition to the world of digital art. Controlled with a tethered stylus, Pixter, is pre-loaded with drawing activities and games, and offers a number of additional cartridges, both licensed and original. As a contract artist, I helped design some of the base unit's activities, cartridge games, and 8-bit animations.

Tiny 8-bit dinosaur
The first Pixter was a B&W unit with limited memory storage. All the artwork, or art assets, had to be simple and easily recognizable. That can be tough when you are trying to make a dinosaur using a 19x13 pixel area! That's exactly 247 pixels, which sounds like a lot, but it's really not. When you consider a small 800x600 pixel photograph is 480,000 pixels, 19x13 is pretty small!

For each job I would receive a highly detailed art matrix to follow. The matrix contained specs on sizes, colors, and functionality for each art asset. If the image did not move, it was "static." If it had limited two-frame animation, it was a "toggle image." Larger full screen animations were simply defined as "20 frame animation" and so on. Within these tight guidelines, there was still room for for me to make adjustments to the sizes as long as they did not effect the gameplay.

These art assets were created in an 8-bit format. If you're familiar with early video games like Pac Man and Donkey Kong, their art assets are comprised are individual squares known as pixels which give a jagged edge to perceived lines and curves in 8-bit art. I'm not a computer programmer, so I'll give you the Wiki definition:

"8-bit color graphics are a method of storing image information in a computer's memory or in an image file, so that each pixel is represented by 8-bits (1 byte). The maximum number of colors that can be displayed at any one time is 256 or 2."
Fisher-Price Pixter 8-bit video game art support and animation by illustrator Joe Lacey
8-bit rabbit artwork
All B&W Pixter images are displayed in 2 colors – black and white (the white being the empty space of the view screen) on an 80x80 working area. When early digital games moved into color, the palette would often be very limited, sometimes only 8, 16, or 32 colors, with some of these colors being almost identical. My early 8-bit art was done this way, and I can tell you, it could be tough sometimes to make it all look nice. Luckily, by the time Fisher-Price released the Color Pixter, we were using 128 colors with a 160x160 working area. The artwork was a lot easier to make. But, despite the increased size and color of the working area, I particularly love B&W 8-bit animation. One pixel to the left or right could be the difference between a happy bunny or a sad bunny.

Over the course of eight years Fisher-Price released six variations of Pixter:

Pixter B&W 80x80 screen.
Pixter Plus 10 additional activities and 20x storage.
Pixter 2.0 Wirelessly send images to another Pixter 2.0.
Color Pixter 128 colors 160x160 screen.
Pocket Pixter Keychain-sized B&W 80x80 screen.
Pixter Multi-Media Now with video editing.
​

Over the course of ten years, I worked on a number of Fisher-Price 8-bit animated games, not all Pixter. While working on these games, I developed the standard practice that was adopted by Fisher-Price for fast review of animated assets. This meant a bit more work on my end as I had to construct each animation frame into a single file that was playable with just one click. This came in handy not only for simple animations, but to mock up a non-interactive version of the actual gameplay for the programmers to review. It greatly increased the speed of the review process, allowed me to see how the animations would look, and allowed me to make adjustments.

Famous Illustrators of the Golden Age Coloring Portfolio: American Edition 1898-1927 adult coloring book by illustrator Joe Lacey
8-bit artwork of fat man with hat
I shot this video to show you the consoles and some highlights from three games. I decided to use the COLOR PIXTER game unit as it has a brighter screen with better contrast. It just looks better when shooting a video. But, despite this, I still prefer the original B&W PIXTER.

There are over 24 B&W Pixter game cartridges. Along with other artists, I helped out on several of them, supplying art support for specific game segments. ​Here are a few of them:
8-bit dinosaur dino t-rex artwork
DINO DRAW

Dinosaur Mix-Up lets kids make there own unique dinosaur with  different dinosaur parts–heads, eyes, mouths, arms, legs, tails, bellies, and skins, plus funny accessories like hats and mustaches.

Dinosaur Scene Starters has different prehistoric and comical backgrounds where kids can stamp different dinos, trees, and bones to create a fun scene.

​Dino Dig is a fossil finding game. Using a flashing scope moved with the stylus, kids search through a prehistoric world looking for bones. The dig goes underground through a geological cross section of the Earth, and once bones are discovered, they are placed on a screen to make a full dinosaur fossil that comes to life!

What's For Dinner Dino? lets kids guess what dinosaurs eat – plants, or meat. If you give the T-Rex vegetables, he sticks out his tongue and makes a "yuck" face.

NOTE: Two years after the release of Dino Draw, I recreated all the art assets for the new Pixter Color console.

Fisher-Price PIXTER pixel art for the Dino Draw cartridge.
Fisher-Price PIXTER Dino Draw cartridge packaging.
8-bit duck
MUSIC STUDIO

Build-a-Band Kids select a background and stamp animated music playing characters in to a scene to create a funny band.

Sound Sprites Kids stamp musical moving images and play them by touching each sprite with the stylus.

Musical Memory A musical version similar in play to the electronic Simon game.

Instrument Mix-up A digital music mixing studio where you mix your own song using twenty different musical stampers. The scrolling mixing board can handle twenty different sound sprites on each of its twelve sections for a total of 240 musical sounds! Press play and you can hear your musical masterpiece! It even has an option to save your creation.

Fisher-Price PIXTER pixel art for the Music Studio cartridge.
Fisher-Price PIXTER Music Studio cartridge packaging.
8-bit monster
MONSTER SHOP

Scary Animator Kids select a background, then choose monster stamps to create a fun scene. Selected monsters will animate and make noises.

Mystery Monsters A dot-to-dot activity where a monster outline is made by clicking on blinking dots. When completed, the monster appears and "comes to life!"

It's Alive! An assembly line of monster body parts. Kids select heads, arms, and bodies to create their own monster. When completed, the monster is reviewed by a panel of judges who rate the monster on a scale of 1-10.

Haunted Hide & Seek  You walk through a haunted house looking for a hidden object. There are eight rooms with 36 views, surprise monsters, trap doors, and more!

Monster Scare Down Two monsters are selected in a competition for scariest monster. Each monster animates and does its best to frighten the audience who hopefully reacts with raised hair and loud screams.

Make a Monster This game is like a paper flip book of three body parts: a head, body, and feet. Kids can design monsters, stamp, draw, and erase them.

Fisher-Price PIXTER pixel art for the Monster Shop cartridge.
Fisher-Price PIXTER Monster Shop  cartridge packaging.
8-bit skeleton
STORY COMPOSER Kids would choose a theme, characters, and props, then write their own captions on each page to stage a story of their own. I created three of the ten different story themes– a pirate adventure, a murder mystery, and a horror story. I really liked working on this game cartridge as it was a chance to do lots of fun characters while leaving the stories up to the kids!

In addition to Story Composer, I also supplied art support for the cartridges Arcade, Learning Fun, and Toy Designer.

Fisher-Price PIXTER pixel art for the Story Composer cartridge.

Pixter Plus and Pixter 2.0 television commercials.

Fisher-Price POCKET PIXTER Digital Pets and DinoRaptor hand-held keychain sized video games.
POCKET PIXTER, as the name implies, is a very small version of the classic B&W Pixter unit, but with limited game play. Like the original Pixter, it has an 80x80 screen resolution but at half the physical size, so the artwork looks sharper and more detailed. Of the five units released, I supplied art support for Digital Pets and DinoRaptor (another variation on the Dino Draw theme.)
8-bit girls
It was inevitable, given the success of the B&W PIXTER, that Fisher-Price would release COLOR PIXTER three years later. I supplied some base unit artwork, stampers, and backgrounds. There are over 30 game cartridges for this console, but I only designed one of them – the updated Dino Draw. Gameplay and images were identical to its predecessor, but with double the resolution and a 128 color palette.

Fisher-Price COLOR PIXTER CAMERA cartridge
I also did some of the base unit artwork for the PIXTER DIGITAL CAMERA, a plug in cartridge that allowed kids to take photos with the Color Pixter unit. More than just a camera, it had fun backgrounds and stampers included. Fisher-Price also made a gooseneck light that attached to the B&W Pixter.

Fisher-Price COLOR PIXTER Dino Draw and Pinball Arcade with pinball machine backgrounds of a pirate theme with shark and mermaid, a haunted house and examples of the dinosaur video games.
Vector art frog
The last console to be released was PIXTER MULTI-MEDIA. It had the ability to play and edit videos. Before I began writing this article, I was unaware that I had worked on this toy! I remember being contracted for some vector-based artwork that was to be turned into Adobe Flash animated games. I saw some of them offered as free playable games on the Fisher-Price website, so I thought that was it.  Turns out some stamps and games that I helped design, Box Out, Concentration, Cube Match, and Snake were included in the Pixter Multi-Media base unit. I don't believe it runs on Flash, but rather the vector art was translated into pixels.

With a list price of of almost $90, the Pixter Multi-Media was competing with higher end hand-held units like the Nintendo DS. The Pixter Multi-Media was available for only one year. After an eight year run, the Fisher-Price Pixter line ended. Around this time, most 8-bit video games were considered "too old" and a whole new world of high-end graphics took their place.

Fisher-Price Pixter Multi-Media hand held video game console.

Pixter Color and Pixter Multi Media television commercials.

Although my 8-bit art career was over with Fisher-Price, I was fortunate to continue work in the video gaming industry, supplying much more highly detailed art for three casino-themed online games in 2017 for an online gaming company. 

As computer graphics evolved, the 8-bit video game became a bit of a relic
, but it's obvious that people still love this style of art. I like to think of it as "retro," a nice trendy word for "old, but still cool." I miss the 8-bit world. It had an innocence to it – a unique look and gameplay that is not present in many of the slick video games of today. Maybe it's because I spent hours playing the Telstar Pong console, Atari 2600, Atari 5200, and the Commodore 64. There's something so appealing and fun about limited pixel art.
Joe Lacey Pixel Art 8-Bit animation assets for video games.
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Best Bowling eBook For Beginners

11/10/2020

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THE ALLEY GATOR BOWLING BOOK for kids and beginners by Joe Lacey on Amazon KINDLE is the Bookauthority Best eBooks for Beginners winner.
I'm happy to announce that my book, "The Alley Gator Bowling Book", is on the BookAuthority's Best Bowling eBooks For Beginners award list.

BookAuthority collects and ranks the best books in the world, and it is a great honor to get this kind of recognition. As featured on CNN, Forbes and Inc — BookAuthority identifies and rates the best books in the world, based on recommendations by thought leaders and experts.

The Alley Gator Bowling Book is available for purchase Amazon in both print and ebook editions.

Collect the entire series of Diner Mighty's sports books for kids! Also available on Amazon.
The Alley Gator Bowling Book, The Alley Bowling Score Pad, Slam Dunk Dog Note Pad, Home Run Rooster Note Pad. Sports books for kids by illustrator Joe Lacey. Published by Diner Mighty Graphics.
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Monster Mix-Ups

10/11/2020

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Picture
Monster Mix-Ups was the second of two rubbing plate creativity kits I worked on for Crayola. It's identical to another kit of theirs that I designed two years earlier – Create-A-Critter, but this time with monster-themed plates and new toy colors.
Picture
Crayola Monster Mix-Ups Rubbing Plates line art by illustrator Joe Lacey.
Crayola Monster Mix-Ups Rubbing Plates line art by illustrator Joe Lacey.
The design of product components (stickers, stamps, rubbing plates,) and packaging for the Crayola Creative Development kits was the responsibility of Crayola Art Director Kathy Buckley. Kathy and I had known each other from college and working with her on these types of projects was always fun. ​
“Joe just 'got it', no matter the subject, no matter the medium, so hiring him to work on the Monster Mix-Ups rubbing plates and package illustration was a no-brainer. I remember it was always so exciting when Joe would bring in his sketches. As much as I knew I could expect excellence, I always got a little something more because Joe would add those amazing, creative details that his work is known for."
I submitted twelve different characters knowing that ten would be chosen. I kind of think of it like The Gong Show. I send my wacky characters out to be judged and someone's gonna get "gonged!". This time, the cheerleader and the gravedigger got the mallet. I wanted this Halloween theme to be done with a lot of humor. Kathy recalls, "I didn't have to tell Joe that Frankenstein should be holding a skateboard (and honestly it wouldn't have occurred to me to do so), but Frankenstein showed up holding a skateboard. A mummy tied up with a gift tag warning not to open before Christmas? Yes, please. Joe delivered so much more than what we asked and that is why we kept asking him to deliver more.”

It's pretty impressive that a kid could actually make 1,000 "scary ghouls." I haven't done the math, but I'll take Crayola's word for it.
I no longer have the original line art used to make the plastic rubbing plates. If they weren't returned to me, they have most likely been destroyed. Luckily, the side panels of the box have small, but very crisp, reproductions of each character. This was back when I would do the final inkings on graphics paper and markers. Later, I typically used a brush and ink on this type of project to get crisper lines. Today it's almost always computerized vector art. They both have their pros and cons.
Crayola Monster Mix-Ups rubbing plates character design sketches by illustrator Joe Lacey. ghost, Frankenstein, Morticia, zombie, Wolfman, mad scientist, pirate skeleton, Dracula, witch, mummy, zombie cheerleader, gravedigger
Crayola Monster Mix-Ups rubbing plates character design sketches of a pirate skeleton and Morticia by illustrator Joe Lacey.
Crayola Monster Mix-Ups rubbing plates character design sketches of a zombie cheerleader and a gravedigger by illustrator Joe Lacey.
HISTORICAL FUN FACT #1
1993 marked the beginning of Crayola's updated packaging.
The two stripes of the chevrons became thicker, and the logo is now on a jaunty angle. Crayola adopted the use of a single chevron on its packaging and gone is the dark green. For decades, the dark green was the only green used. It's lighter and brighter replacement would become known as "Crayola Green." 
Picture
The official "Crayola Yellow" used for the background would remain the same, but the newer packaging tended to have more variation in tone. Both the "Crayola Yellow" and the "Crayola Green" are custom colors run along with the CMYK process making these boxes a six color run. The crayons included with the toy are still of the older design, but they too would become updated.
HISTORICAL FUN FACT #2
​
All of Crayola's rubbing plate kits have "©1982 Binney & Smith Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED" molded in to the base of the toy. Don't let this mislead you. Always go by the dates on the boxes. Create-A-Critter came out in 1991 and Monster Mix-Ups in 1993.  It's the same approach used as the markings on vintage G.I Joes which all read "copyright 1964" for over ten years of production. Yes, it's a collector's nightmare.

The bottom of the art tray used for the Crayola Monster Mix-Ups craft toys manufactured by Binney & Smith, Inc.
From 1885–2007, the company was known as Binney & Smith. In 1984 they became a wholly owned subsidiary of Hallmark Cards. In 2008, the company changed its name to Crayola, LLC and dropped the use of the Binney & Smith logo.
I get a kick of seeing these drawings molded on to plastic plates. I often illustrated stickers that would be applied to a toy, but when the illustrations are the toys – well, that's even cooler! The combination of bright lime green, orange, and purple was a popular color scheme of the early 90s.
Crayola Monster Mix-Ups Rubbing Plates by illustrator Joe Lacey.
The illustration for the back of the box turned into a fun and creative way to show the step-by-step instructions. Kathy Buckley drew a very precise layout for me to follow. This was all pre-computer, so precision was important, and this illustration was going to get a lot of text wrapped around it.

Following her design I drew a tight pencil version at 100% size. I used photocopies of the three characters shown as "works of art." I lightly transferred the sketch to a piece of bristol board using graphite paper. The drawing was covered with a plastic film which was cut with an X-Atco knife, revealing only the background. I airbrushed the background purple and sprayed black for the drop shadows, both with acrylic paint. I then cut new film to cover everything except the red boxes, which were also sprayed with acrylic paint. The rest of the painting was completed with gouache. I used colored pencils to give a crayon look to the three finished pictures in the lower right corner.

I primarily worked on content and less on packaging. This always frustrated me, but it does make sense from a product line point of view. Typically, the same artist will work on the same parts of a product line. I got to design and illustrate the toy's art, while another artist illustrated the box covers. I was often given the job of illustrating the backs of the boxes, but I always approached them with the same enthusiasm as if they were the covers.
Crayola Monster Mix-Ups rubbing plates toy by illustrator Joe Lacey. Art director sketch.
Art director's sketch.
Crayola Monster Mix-Ups rubbing plates toy by illustrator Joe Lacey. Artist sketch.
Illustrator's sketch.
Crayola Monster Mix-Ups rubbing plates toy by illustrator Joe Lacey. Airbrush illustration.
Original art.
Crayola Monster Mix-Ups rubbing plates toy by illustrator Joe Lacey. Back of box packaing.
Back of box.
The sides of the box featured six crayon-colored "mixed-up" monsters as well as the B&W line art. 
Crayola Monster Mix-Ups rubbing plates toy by illustrator Joe Lacey.
HERE'S A PUZZLER! Try not to "mix up" this toy with Color and Stamp Mix-Up Monsters, also by Crayola and released later that same year.
Crayola Monster Mix-Ups rubbing plates toy by illustrator Joe Lacey with skeleton ghost holding a skateboard and wearing a
Crayola Monster Mix-Ups rubbing plates toy by illustrator Joe Lacey. Crayon colored children's drawing of zombie and wolfman.
HISTORICAL FUN FACT #3
​
The Monster Mix-Ups toy marked the beginning of Crayola using a hinge top styled box made from a single sheet of cardboard. The artwork was printed directly on the cardboard, which was then die-cut, folded, and glued at the corners. Prior to this, boxes like Create-A-Critter, were made of heavy stock cardboard with a separate lid and bottom. The artwork was printed on a litho-sheet, glued, and wrapped on the lid and bottom and folded along the inside edges.
Box lid and interior for Crayola Monster Mix-Ups by Binney & Smith, Inc.
Box lid and interior for Crayola Create_A-Critter by Binney & Smith, Inc.
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