Andrew Pomeroy

I've seen several graffiti works based on pixel art, including some innovative work by Space Invader using small ceramic tiles to create pixel mosaics. But as far as using stencils to create pixel art, I hadn't ever seen a method that seemed solid. So I came up with my own, using a few basic materials.
As long as you don't skimp on the quality of paint, you can end up with a very clean image.


The most critical supply in this process is an industrial lighting diffuser. It's basically a giant plastic grid made up of about 1cm x 1cm squares. I used this as the basis of my pixel-grid system, and for each color of pixel that I needed, I covered up all the cells that I didn't want colored in.
The way I achieved this was by first determining which pixels I needed blocked out for each color, marking a piece of paper which I laid underneath the diffuser, and then started masking the appropriate squares: first by using duct tape to fill the larger gaps, and then silicone expanding foam to quickly fill individual gaps.

Then it was as simple as laying down the diffuser on the painting surface, and spraying a coat of each stencil's particular color.
For the green and blue coats, however, I ended up with quite a bit of peeling and unevenness to the finish, as the paint I was using was cheap Krylon as opposed to higher-quality spraypaint.

A timelapse of the process:

Timelapse - Stenciling Pixel Art from Andrew Pomeroy on Vimeo.

For this type of stenciling, I wanted to experiment with creating a larger pattern from a variety of elements on-the-fly. What I imagined was to cut some smaller stencils with which to form a larger image by reusing and layering over and in conjunction with each previous sprayed layer.

More specifically, I wanted to create a "drip pattern" down the side of my mini-fridge. I started with a bit of a rough sketch of what I had in mind in Illustrator, and then fully fleshed it out by expanding it into the pieces I would later cut and spray with.

To create a full image of a drip pattern I would need several elements in a variety of sizes: The start (top) of each individual drip, a thin stream to "extend" each drip, and the teardrop-shaped bottom of each drip. I also threw in some moustache-shaped things towards the end to use as basic curves with which to smooth out transitions between one drip and another. Here's what my Illustrator file looked like, which is what got sent to the laser cutter:

As far as application of the patterns went, it was fairly simple: I just started with one drip, sprayed each element over one another individually, and then continued on with the next one until I had a pattern that I liked, after which I smoothed out the transitions and did a little cleanup.

The hardest part was masking, I felt as though there was a lot more spillage than I would have liked, and dealing with applying and reapplying a newspaper mask was very frustrating. Overall, though, the pattern-making process was beautifully simple, and could easily be applied to any other surface, including one that spanned much more area, with infinite potential for customization.

A timelapse of the painting process:

Timelapse - Constructive Stenciling from Andrew Pomeroy on Vimeo.

Stenciling typically suffers from two distinct limitations: The images can't have any fills within gaps (islands), and the surface has to be flat. Here I used vinyl straight from the vinyl cutter as a stenciling material.

I cut a negative image out in vinyl, and applied it to my surface using transfer tape. The round surface of the pumpkin would have been impossible to stencil upon with a traditional stencil. The ability to incorporate islands in the image is evident in the eyes and mouth of the mouse character, as well as the tie and the gaps in the lettering.

A timelapse of the process:

Timelapse - Vinyl Stenciling from Andrew Pomeroy on Vimeo.

The precision of the vinyl cutter allows for a very realistic visual imitation of common images that utilize a small number of colors. For example, universally-recognized signage is often only composed of two colors and is drawn with very simple imagery and text.

The inspiration for this one came from the common "Emergency Exit" signs seen in public buildings all over the world. Here is my alteration:

The process involved a normal vinyl-cut image layered on another cut layer of equal size, a large white rectangle which served as the "backing." On the upper layer (the red vinyl), I cut the transfer tape to match the size of the bottom layer exactly, and then used a tee-square to align the two while I sandwiched one layer upon the other. Vinyl sticks to itself with much tenacity; I used a dab of water on the adhesive side of the top layer so that the two pieces of vinyl wouldn't become accidentally stuck together permanently. It came in handy, as I had to separate the two at least once.

Here's a timelapse of the process:

Timelapse - Fake Signage Production from Andrew Pomeroy on Vimeo.

Leave me a comment with your email or another means of contact. I can't remember who all had expressed interest in the app that I made for my final project, so when I get a few critical updates made to the program I'll send you guys a copy of the installer.

I've gotten quite a bit of work done on my Flash file, but there's still a good amount to go. Since my last update, I've successfully coded the following:
-ability to access one's iTunes Library through an XML file
-randomly choosing and playing back a song from the iTunes library
-loading, writing and appending to a database XML file to keep track of the artists' progressive works.

Unfortunately it's all ugly as hell, so most of my effort from here on out will go towards skinning the thing.