This stunning volume documents Waneella's unique journey from novice pixel pusher to world-renowned artist, indisputably the leading name in this reinvention of the once retro pixel-art aesthetic. The book will take us from her early experiments with the pixel-art form creating pseudovideogame visuals, through to the years where her unique style crystallized, fusing sci-fi–tinged architecture, cinematic hints of narrative, and masterful deployment of light sources and shadow.
Alongside this complete catalog of her works are several process sections, walking the reader through Waneella's working style, which often initially draws influence from Japanese streets found via Google Street View. Her creative process is explored step by step, detailing the underlying structure, rigorous perspective work, and experimentation that goes into every piece. Each step is accompanied by open and humorous commentary from the artist herself—some of these how-tos will span over twenty steps—making Waneella: Pixelscapes a must-have for her legions of budding pixel-artist followers.
Opening with a foreword by Japanese videogame designer Ikumi Nakamura, the book features an in-depth profile, charting Waneella's creative journey in her own words, and artworks often with detailed discursive captions, imparting anecdotal—and invariably funny—information on how each piece came together.
Contributors
Waneella
Author
Waneella, also known as Valeriya Sanchilo, is a prolific pixel artist who began her creative journey in multimedia animation at the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography in Russia. Since 2012, she has become an established artist and built a dedicated fanbase of more than 250,000 followers across Tumblr, X, Instagram, and YouTube. Waneella's captivating urban scenes, with their meticulous detail and 16-bit videogame charm, ambient YouTube animations with music by E.Sanchillo, and covetable prints have carved out a unique space for her in the universe of pixel art.
Ikumi Nakamura
Foreword By
Ikumi Nakamura is an independent creative, explorer, and videogame designer. Since 2004, she has explored and photographed abandoned and uninhabited places and spaces across Europe, Asia, and the United States to fid inspiration for her games. Influenced by the videogame S.T.A.L.K.E.R., she created a mysterious style of wearing a hoodie and gas mask when exploring. She also aspires to become a secrets hunter on the Japanese TV show Discovery of the World’s Mysteries. The experiences and records of her photography pursuits are published on the website Tomboy Urbex.
