eBoy ("Godfathers of Pixel") is a pixel art group founded in 1997 by Kai Vermehr, Steffen Sauerteig and Svend Smital.
Their complex illustrations have been made into posters, shirts, souvenirs, and even displayed in gallery exhibitions.[1] They were founded on May 2, 1997, expressing their modular and collaborative approach as something that defines eBoy as much as the use of pixels. "We started working with pixels because we loved the idea of making pictures only for the screen. It’s the best way to get really sharp and clean looking results. Also, handling pixels is fun and you are forced to simplify and abstract things, which is a big advantage of this technique." [1] Based in Berlin, eBoy's founders collaborate with Peter Stemmler in New York to produce graphic design work for companies. [2]
They express their art as an extension of their childhood. Their influences come from: "Pop culture... shopping, supermarkets, TV, toy commercials, LEGO, computer games, the news, magazines..."[2] Kai was the only one who grew up with Nintendo to inspire him, the rest of the eBoys lived in East Germany where video games didn't exist.[3] Their work makes intense use of popular culture and commercial icons, and their style is presented in three-dimensional isometric illustrations filled with robots, cars, guns and girls. Mostly their designs are printed today and not used solely for computer screens anymore, allowing images to get more complex with details.[1]"If we don’t work on other projects at the same time it takes about six to eight weeks to finish a very detailed cityscape, three eBoy’s working on it, nearly full time. But, if we have to do it in our spare time, which happens often, it could take years to finish a picture since we can’t spend so much time on it."[1] Their unique style has gained them a cult following among graphic designers worldwide[1], as well as a long list of commercial clients. Their latest project are plastic Peecol toys with Kidrobot, and soon a new line of wooden toys are to be produced under their own label.
eBoy has worked with named brands and companies such as Coca-Cola, MTV, VH1, Adidas, Gola and Honda. They have also worked in creating the album cover for Groove Armada's 2007 studio album Soundboy Rock.
SuperBroncoBattle - 2004
The first solo UK exhibition of eBoy at the Minuco underground gallery in Clerkenwell London. The show was very well received; fans from as far afield as Cardiff and Cumbria made the trip down to London. The show got press attention which spanned as far as Brazil.
eBoy-LA - 2008
This exhibition at Concrete Hermit in London saw Los Angeles get the eBoy unique visionary panoramic treatment. There was also a chance to see the development of the Peecols – eBoy’s series of toys. These innovative toys are highly collectable, and there was the rare opportunity to see the Blockbob prototypes and special limited editions of the figures.
