Images viaChildren's book illustrator Octavi Navarro creates art with the playful and energetic—though layered—style typical of the genre. Keeping his subject matter understandable and significant at the same time is the name of the game, a virtue that's evident in his new series of in-depth pixel art scenes, published on his Pixels, Huh? Tumblr.Most of the scenes are bisections of quirky buildings and vehicles, revealing everything happening inside—not unlike a dollhouse or a classic shot in a Wes Anderson film. In one of Navarro's images, an iceberg is revealed to be a submarine, hosting ballroom dancers and a sleepy panda. In another, we see circus characters stacked on top of one another in a carnivalesque apartment complex.
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Titles like Scene #01: Midnight Carnival and Scene #03: How I Met Your Grandfather, accurately describe and add to the essence of each illustration, turning a charming snapshot of a strange world into a compelling narrative. The subtly dark overtones of a work like How I Met Your Grandfather—which depicts a WWII war plane exploding mid-air—are imbued with a "happily ever after" vibe essential to any children's tale, given the image's title. In Navarro's intricately imagined universes, there's a lot going on—but sometimes a static image has enough detail to depict a full story all on its own.Explore the deep worlds and imaginary narratives of Navarro's work below—plus a bonus pixel rendition of a recent CHVRCHES concert he jammed out at.
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