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I'm Kai Vermehr from eBoy. Ask Me Anything.

over 8 years ago from , Big Noodle at eBoy

At eBoy we create re-usable pixel objects and use them to build complex and extensible artwork. We make toys and we write code. We share most of the work between the three members of eBoy (Steffen, Svend and myself). Our website: http://hello.eboy.com/

30 comments

  • Thibault MaekelberghThibault Maekelbergh, over 8 years ago

    Hey Kai, not really leaving a question here nut just wanted to say that your interview with The Verge was really really cool and insightful to watch!

    2 points
    • Kai VermehrKai Vermehr, over 8 years ago

      Thanks Thibault! I agree, The Verge focused on the right stuff and made things easy to understand and fun to watch/read. We were very impressed to see them at work!!

      1 point
  • Kelly SuttonKelly Sutton, over 8 years ago

    Hi Kai,

    First off, thanks for joining us on Designer News today. I've been following your work for many, many years at this point.

    Two questions:

    • How do you keep your work (and your mind) fresh for years at a time? How do you stay focused when that's required?
    • If you could make one change to the Designer News pixel avatar builder, what would it be?
    2 points
    • Kai VermehrKai Vermehr, over 8 years ago

      Hello Kelly! Thanks for having us! :)

      • To stay fresh we share projects between us. If we get tired there's always someone there to pick up. And it's never a problem to come back to work with pixels. And we have side projects.
      • The avatar maker is great! Only thing I didn't figure out is color! :)
      3 points
  • Tom WoodTom Wood, over 8 years ago

    Here's the Verge interview mentioned in this thread: http://www.theverge.com/2014/6/17/5803850/pixel-perfect-the-story-of-eboy

    Worth watching the video for sure!

    1 point
  • Art VandelayArt Vandelay, over 8 years ago

    Hey Kai!

    My co-worker loves your work (I do too). He wants to know if you will ever make themed posters. In particular, Game of Thrones?

    1 point
    • Kai VermehrKai Vermehr, over 8 years ago

      Thanks Patrick! Themed posters have been on our list for a long time. We have been thinking of mash-ups as well. The problem is that each of our posters take lots of time – and our to-do list is quite crowded. But we have to do this eventually. Our San Francisco Kickstarter campaign is doing well – using the same approach might give us more choices in the future.

      Game of Thrones is a new idea btw. We'll definitely keep that in mind!

      2 points
  • Vasil EnchevVasil Enchev, over 8 years ago

    Hi Kai,

    I am a big fan of eBoy! Have you considered making a game out of it?

    0 points
    • Kai VermehrKai Vermehr, over 8 years ago

      Thanks Vasil!

      There is FixPix, which was a collaboration with Delicious Toys. And a pixel tile editor for iOS called 'The Grix' we created together with Felt Tip.

      But we never had the time to work on one ourselves. Who knows ... we've started to play with Unity the past year. We have to see how things evolve.

      1 point
  • Jon DarkeJon Darke, over 8 years ago

    What's the average and also the largest amount of time you've spent crafting a single piece of work?

    0 points
    • Kai VermehrKai Vermehr, over 8 years ago

      Hi Jon, a city Pixorama, built from scratch, takes about 2 months+. All three of us working. We can speed up things if we can re-use existing parts from our database though.

      1 point
  • Piero BorgoPiero Borgo, over 8 years ago

    Hi Kai, at this moment I have no questions, I just wanted to say that I admire and love your work. I always loved pixel art in general, after your amazing interview on the Verge I decided to star drawing in pixel art too. Keep up with your amazing work, can't wait to see your new stuff!

    0 points
  • Dan SherrattDan Sherratt, over 8 years ago

    Huge fan, you inspired me to create pixel characters for my old Sixth Form (College) website back in 2002 but I just didn't have the patience to see it through to full landscapes.

    How often do you find yourself scrapping projects if at all? Or do you start off with trial and error and keep at it until it begins to come together?

    0 points
    • Kai VermehrKai Vermehr, over 8 years ago

      Hi Dan, we start with small objects first. And combine them again and again. This way we're always surrounded by successful projects and we stay motivated. ;)

      0 points
  • Marcus CampbellMarcus Campbell, over 8 years ago

    First off, I've been a big fan since the late 90s and was filled with fan-boy glee when I was able to thank you in person at a recent Maker Faire.

    Pixel art seemed to be a much larger design trend in the late-90s and early-00s, with yourselves, Netbabyworld, QuickHoney, Word's Sissyfight, Habbo, k10k, Flip Flop Flyin’, Meomi, etc. (That said, I can point to Minecraft and Paul Robertson these days.)

    With high-resolution displays and vector graphics, it's rarer than ever for people to actually encounter pixels.

    How much of the interest in pixel art is tied to its own history and do you think it can outlast the understanding of what a pixel is?

    Have you noticed any significant changes in the amount of, or type of, commercial requests coming in?

    0 points
    • Kai VermehrKai Vermehr, over 8 years ago

      Hi Marcus,

      our work with pixels draws inspiration from early video games and computer art. But it's not the main reason we work with them.

      Before anything else it was our decision to work digitally, on, and for the screen, that motivated us to use pixels. We don't look back much (not that we don't love old pixel art!).

      And I guess we're lucky, we still find enough work to live from. It might also help that our pixel object database has become quite large over time. It gives us the option to reuse parts and work much faster – and still create art at a high quality level. That's a real advantage.

      I agree about Minecraft btw. It really is a first person 3D pixel editor. Crazy cool.

      1 point
  • jason bjason b, over 8 years ago

    Hi Kai,

    Thanks for doing this. I admire your work and am excited to see the new San Francisco poster when it comes out.

    1. Do you use different scales in Pixel Art or stick with a single scale to keep your assets interchangeable?
    2. What limitations of Pixel art are most frustrating? Most rewarding?
    3. You've done a bunch of cities. Any plans to explore other backdrops (space,oceans,earth interior, etc)?
    4. Any interest in making games or videos with your art?

    Thanks!

    0 points
    • Kai VermehrKai Vermehr, over 8 years ago

      Thanks Jason! :)

      • We try to stick with 72 dpi. But printing often makes it necessary to use different ratios. Editing itself happens at 1:1 of course.
      • It is specially true for pixel art that the limitations are what makes it so sexy and fun to work with. The fewer pixels, the less possibilities you have – and the faster you work. Each click will start to make more of a difference. I also like the non-ambivalent character of working with pixels. I could – if I wanted, describe an image to you, exactly pixel by pixel, row by row, color value by color value. It would only take a minute or two – for a small matrix.
      • There are lots of ideas for themed posters. The closest we got to one is "Superbroncobattle" from a couple of years ago. But each poster means so much time we have to invest, that we have to make decisions. It's a cost problem really.
      • We have plans yes. Not so much time though. We're currently working on a web-based database for sprites/parts. It might become the backbone for something new.
      2 points
  • Jonathan ShariatJonathan Shariat, over 8 years ago

    1. What tools do you use to make pixel art?

    2. What is a good resource to start learning pixel art?

    3. Who is your favorite pixel artist outside eBoy?

    0 points
    • Kai VermehrKai Vermehr, over 8 years ago
      • Our main tool is the pen in Adobe Photoshop – and lots of layers. At the moment it is the only pixel application that can handle both RGB and CMYK color. And the SmartObjects feature is turning out to be very useful. Sometimes we also use SketchUp 3D for visualization.
      • You can look at existing stuff, zoom in and see how it is done. But maybe it's better to just start with a small matrix and play away. I'd suggest 16x16 or 32x32. You can later combine those results into something new.
      • I'm sorry but I'm not too familiar with the current scene. There is some great stuff but I'm terrible remembering names. Lately I've seen beautiful work for games. Two of them are 'Endless Doves' for iOS and '1-Bit Ninja'.
      2 points
  • Daniel GoldenDaniel Golden, over 8 years ago

    Hi, Kai. Where/how did you come up with the name eBoy?

    0 points
    • Kai VermehrKai Vermehr, over 8 years ago (edited over 8 years ago )

      I guess it's a mashup (?) of the word "email" and the name of one of our favourite bands, the "Beastie Boys". We were (and are) big fanboys of their "Check Your Head" album from 1992. The name was a good fit as we are three boys and we worked with digital media. And the .com domain was available.

      ps: love your avatar btw.

      2 points