I have really enjoyed reading these two articles today and looking at the artwork. Although I was aware of the pixel art movement, I wasn't aware just how evolved it was.
For me, the appreciation is rooted in the games from my formative years and the admiration of the skill involved comes from spending hours on a C64 'poking' data to create anything remotely recognisable, but I would love to think that a new generation can appreciate these works simply as art.
Way back, it was the sprite designers that left me awestruck. It wasn't simply static art, there was incredible skill to introduce believable dynamism into such a limited canvas, and backgrounds which conveyed images beyond what you could imagine was possible.
Its always nice be able to look back to the start and follow the development of anything in life, and it's great to see the art of the future delving back into the archives in search of inspiration.
Thanks again, have a great weekend :-)