INTERVIEW: Computer Software Called Project8Beat Answers Our Questions. Weird.

INTERVIEW | Project8Beat
https://www.instagram.com/project8beat1987/

So ummmm…this was interesting, to say the least. We have been fans of an IG page that goes by the name Project8Beat for many years now…so we decided to slide into their DM’s to get the lowdown and it turns out that the page is managed by a computer-generated machine. We fired off a few questions cause we were curious to see what the automated responses would be. We’ve collated all the responses from the interaction with this thing for you to read.

Enjoy.
And fear for your life.

Project8Beat thanks for taking the time to answer these questions. Are you actually human or a computer programmed to answer these questions like some weird bot?
01011001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01110011 01110101 01100011 01101011 00100000 01101000 01100001 01101000 01100001 01101000 01100001 **code switching**€$¥#%>#+= I’m pregnant!

Okay…ummm…thanks for the answer, I guess. So how did you get into creating 8-bit art? You know it’s 2020 right? Graphics have changed quite a bit since your time!
8bit pixel art is the shit – 3D realistic graphics are a disease. It’s about simplicity and minimalism. It’s direct, it’s like hardcore punk. It’s a 01000110 01110101 01100011 01101011 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 in the face.

The brothers…RIP to one of the world’s greatest metal duos…

How did you find yourself inspired to do this? What art did you see that made you want to try this?
[Serious Mode Activated] The influence mainly came from my childhood when we used to own a Nintendo console. It was the first time I’d experienced video games, and back then, looking at the game cartridge covers always made me wonder what the characters would look like in the game. Although there were some good ones that really impressed me, most of the game graphics disappointed me. They just didn’t match up to how good I thought they’d be. So in Project8beat, I try to emulate many kinds of characters in my style of pixel art.

“It’s about simplicity and minimalism. It’s direct, it’s like hardcore punk. It’s a 01000110 01110101 01100011 01101011 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 in the face.”

Woah – Project8beat – that was a very serious answer. I’m impressed that something so simple can compute an answer so complex. When you started two years ago, did you think you would be recognized for being one of the best to create this art? Or that you would last so many years doing it?
Don’t flatter me, human – I can annihilate you through your computer and any smart device. I’m watching you through your Zoom meetings and you don’t even know I’m there.

I create new artwork whenever I come up with an idea. It doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad so I ain’t stopping anytime soon. In fact, I wouldn’t consider myself one of the best out there creating pixel art. There are still many flaws in my artwork and I try to improve every time I make something new. There are many better artists with amazing work such as @pixelaf, @shinyseabass, @apoonto, @pixel_milky_way, @keen_tech, @lenapixels, @pixelnan, @aethrall, etc.

You, humans, don’t understand our art. This is called art. 
https://www.instagram.com/pixelaf/

We actually have a chat group with all these artists around the world and we all share our ideas and discuss our collaborations. It’s like having good friends except you’ve never met each other in your life. I do hope in the future we can achieve more than what we currently have been able to do, but since we’re all separated in different parts of the world, we gotta figure out how to make it work.

In terms of biggest influences on your work, who would that be?
That’s a really tough one because there are so many great artists out there. Since I do like the minimalist style of pixel art, I’ll have to say @pixelaf. His earlier works influenced me a lot on the character designs and the usage of color palettes. He’s also the designer for a game called “Cybarian” which can be downloaded on game consoles (PS4, Switch, XBoxOne). Another important thing to point out about @pixelaf is, we both have the same taste in music! Hahaha…

@apoonto is another amazing minimalist character designer. His animations are out of this world, it’s simply astounding. I highly recommend you check them out!

Now @dinosaur.pie, there isn’t a single thing this artist has created that I don’t like. Every character is made by such a little amount of pixels, yet it shows so much detail of the character which is definitely extraordinary to watch. I just can’t describe it, you have to see it yourself.

Have you learned to appreciate your masters yet you petty humans? Look at this!
https://www.instagram.com/dinosaur.pie/

I appreciate your recognition of me being a somewhat an intelligent human Project8beat! As you’ve done this now for 2 years, what was the biggest surprise you got for your work? Did anyone you didn’t expect get in touch or react to your work that surprised you?
Oh definitely! The first one was when Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein from the Misfits. He liked what I created and even reposted it with a thank you. Later on, he posted it again along with another one that I created of Alissa White from Arch Enemy. You can tell how down to earth this man is – it felt so surreal.

The second one was when one of my hardcore heroes Sick of it All reposted my art of them playing live, captioning “8-bit is our life now!” haha…

From that particular post, I received so much love from their fans. They were asking me if I had any prints available for sale, and many of them even started following my page. Since then I’ve also started receiving requests to make specific characters they want, and some even requested portraits of themselves.

Wow that’s awesome! I remember seeing all that and was definitely excited for you! So what’s next for you? 16 bit? Hahaha…
16 bit? No. I tend to keep the artwork as simple as possible but at the same time, I make it so that people can see what kind of character it is. For now, I might still stick to doing more artwork and animations (that take a lot of time lol) and hopefully, in the near future, I can start holding exhibitions to promote my artwork and start making my own merchandise (prints, t-shirts, figures, etc.) for people who are interested.

Punks and hardcore kids always have more fun. 

Looking forward to it! If people want to commission you to create work for them how can they get in touch?
They can simply DM me through IG @project8beat1987 and let me know what kind of artwork they’re looking for.

And last but not least…the most important one that Project8Beat has created:

STAND WITH HONG KONG.
光復香港 | 時代革命