Even before animator Paul Robertson designed the visual identity of video games, he’d made a name for himself with short films that perfectly mimicked the style of classic SNES-era beat-em-ups, like Pirate Baby’s Cabana Battle Street Fight 2006, and Kings Of Power 4 Billion % (neither of which are safe for work, but both of which are awesome). Robertson’s sprite work, as with the stuff he produced for Gravity Falls in 2012, normally operates in the realm of cartoonish 16-bit characters. But lately, the artist has been dabbling in 8-bit, soft-edged pastels, inspired by the visuals of Taito’s classic Bubble Bobble. Working in that style, Robertson has produced hundreds of adorable pixel caricatures of characters from TV, video games, and movies. The sprite sheets, besides being a joy to look at, are like a scavenger hunt of anime, obscure RPGS, and popular sitcoms. They also seem tailor-made for cutting out and using as an avatar, if you’ve been in the market to represent yourself with a tiny version of Home Improvement’s Al Borland or Newman from Seinfeld.
You can see all of the sprites on a single sheet here, and can (and should) find more of Robertson’s amazing art on his tumblr.