eboy draw your word in pixels.
A lil’ interview with the godfathers of pixel, I mean of course the artists trio eBoy.
Undisputed sovereigns of pixel art, The graphic collective Eboy has developed throughout the years a sophisticated artwork where you can see rampaging robots climbing big buildings next to tanned bikini girls, all of it in a complex and fun looking 3D world. With their shiny style, Steffen Sauerteig, Svend Smital and kai Vermehr have quickly earned worldwide recognition, and caught the eye of companies as big as MTV, Honda, or Coca-Cola. Kai brings us beyond the screen and explains to ACCLAIM how Eboy became one of today’s finest art crews.
More about Acclaim magazine.
More about the godfathers of pixel.
Pixel drawing of Berlin
LET’S GO BACK TO THE EARLY DAYS. HOW DID YOU ALL MEET?
Svend and Steffen knew each other for a long time. I met Steffen at MetaDesign around 1996. After we left there we started gaming together. Soon we decided to start a website with fun pixel stuff on it and registered eBoy.com. Soon Svend joined and from there it just evolved.
WHAT IS THE INFLUENCE OF THE INTERNET ON YOUR WORK?
At the beginning we only wanted to work for the screen. We were not using the internet yet. All the stuff was distributed on diskettes on a viral basis. But as soon we got connected it was obvious that our work for the screen was perfect for the internet playground. So from there on we focused on it as our main medium.
We also use the internet extensively as a communication and research tool between us. We use txt, audio and video chat, flickr, etc. etc. So it is just everywhere.
WHAT’S THE BIGGEST DIFFICULTY IN USING PIXELS AS A DESIGN TECHNIQUE?
I’d say it’s restriction to a square which makes organic shapes difficult. But this difficulty is what makes this technique so much fun to work with. It makes you work hard but guides you to a level of abstraction that we enjoy very much.
WHERE DOES YOUR OBSESSION WITH BIG CITIES COME FROM?
Well, it’s the place where life condenses and we do probably prefer to live – it’s where we actually are. But there are many cool places, it does not have to be a city probably…
Flying Taiwan Dragon artwork
WAS THE BERLIN ENVIRONMENT AN INFLUENCE IN THIS CHOICE?
Only because we live here and that influences us. We love Berlin, it’s a city of change and electric energy with many many faces. It’s something you sure see in our work.
iPad cool design case
WITH INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION FROM THE DESIGN COMMUNITY, AND AN ENDLESS LIST OF MAJOR CLIENTS FROM NIKE TO COCA-COLA, WHAT KIND OF CHALLENGES STILL KEEP YOU MOTIVATED?
We are currently working on a new hot toy series with Kidrobot coming out in September. This is the major project at the moment. We’re also doing a Los Angeles poster for Honda, and I‘m personally working on my drumming skills. We’ll see what’s next.
