Did you know that images are represented by 0’s and 1’s? In a simple sense, every image can be broken up into pixels, which most of us are familiar with. What a lot of us are less familiar with, however, is the term binary. Binary refers to ones and zeros, as simple as that. Each pixel in an image can be represented by a 1 or a 0. If the pixel is a zero, it is left blank. If the pixel is a 1, it is shaded in black. What this means is that with enough pixels being shaded in black and white, you can create an image! The more pixels that are incorporated into your image, the higher the resolution. Bits per pixel, or bpp, is a concept that affects the number of different colors in an image, or the depth of a color. This can take an image with a low number of bits per pixel, lacking vibrant color, to an image with as much depth as The Night Watch! Now, you may be wondering, what exactly is a “pixel”? Well, a pixel is the smallest unit of a digital display. Essentially, it is one of the tiny squares that make up the grid on your screen. While it is easier to generate the Night Watch with pixels rather than with brushes, it can be argued that the digital representation of art loses its meaning compared to its “natural” counterpart. The loss of a physical piece of art can truly change the meaning of a piece, and can also change the experience of viewing the art for those who are consuming it.
This post was proofread by ChatGPT.
*****NOTE: I could not get GIMP to work on my Macbook computer to create images*********