Sorry for dropping off the map for a bit (I’ll explain later), but here’s some more sprites based on early 80s video games!

Custom Sprites
– Namco: Mappy (FINALLY!)
– Nintendo: Donkey Kong and Luigi
– Taito: redone and improved Ptolemy
– Williams: Lander and Flyer Model from Defender, Hulk from Robotron: 2084

All these things were added to the GFX Generators, waiting for you to use them in fake screenshots, avatars, graphics and more.


I got yet another commission to make pixel art for a YouTube channel, but this was for a more intricate background. The irony is that most of what I was spriting was 80s-related, keeping me on theme even when I’m not working on the site. I’ll be sure to link to it when it hits the internet.


The commission work may have kept me from doing a few planned updates this month, but those ideas will just get kicked along for later. Thanks to the votes that went into the arcade, I wanted to make an update with characters from early fighting games and beat ’em ups (think Kung-Fu Master, Yie Ar Kung-Fu, Shaolin’s Road, Karate Champ) and that’s something that’ll probably be more fun if I have more time to make material for it. The same goes for another themed update that I won’t describe, but I’ll just say that a sprite in the 15th Anniversary update was a warm-up for that.


This site will be in chill mode for September; not really paused, but there won’t be a lot of new content. There are art programs I’ve bought months ago and it’s time for me to dig in and start learning how to use them. Plus, I’m really tired and need some rest. Updates will stay small until October. You know what’s coming back in October, right? Riiiiiiiiiight.

Here’s a small update that includes a few things tied to that Old-School update from November, improves some X-Men in the GFX Generators, and sets up things for the upcoming 1987 update.

GFX Generators
Updated characters: Flashgal (improved sprite, added pistol and sword sprites), Mario (added in-game Mario Bros. palette with darker blue), Centipede (added five palettes), Colossus (added sprite), Cyclops (Added sprites, including infamous intro sprite), Storm (added sprites), Wolverine (added five sprites)
Updated screenstyles: Centipede background added to the GroupShot’s 160×192 set-ups.

Sprites – Updates to Shinobi (sprites added, layout reformatted) gallery.

Game Index – Ms. Pac-Man, Flashgal and Ghosts ‘n Goblins (arcade versions) were added. Shinobi (arcade) was in the system, but didn’t show up on the main game list for some reason.


The website now has a Shop page. I’ve had a ScrollBoss store set up on my CafePress account for years, but never really put it on the site until now. Why? Because I made a design for it that’s something other than the ScrollBoss S symbol.

Those who have visited the message board might recognize that. The F-Bomb shirt is sold through CafePress and is available in Men’s and Women’s modes. I’m also working on some things that will be sold as art prints, possibly on deviantART but definitely as part of my print collection at conventions.

This update is 100% old-school with games from 1985 and earlier. This is the second such update after the one in February with Pooka, Ms. Pac-Man and others. Oddly enough, that was before I even knew that Wreck-It Ralph even existed. Thanks to delays due to commissions and other projects, this update was pushed back to the month that the movie hit theaters. In other words, this is a really good time to celebrate the title and characters that built the foundation of video games. Besides, this site really needs more content from this era.

GFX Generators
New characters: Berzerk (Evil Otto and Robot), Centipede, Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Junior, Dig Dug, Flashgal, Frogger (and Lady Frog), Fygar, H.E.R.O., Kangaroo, Luigi, Mr. Do, Pitfall Harry, Q-Bert, the Wizard of Wor.
Updated: Ghost Monsters (Gloved sprite, new palettes), Mario (new sprites & palettes), Pac-Man (two new sprites), Pooka (new palettes), Space Invaders (new palettes)
New backgrounds: A few new backgrounds were added to Create-a-scene, box tribute and Avatar 100×100 options, but the most important is the scratch-made arcade scene.
Updated screenstyles: Silver Atari 2600 box added to Box Tributes in the GroupShot. Ninja Warriors (arcade) 16×16 font added to the “Create-a-Scene 384×224 + text” in the GroupShot generator mainly because it looks like a big version of the typical font for old games.

Custom Sprites – The following galleries were updated:
Activision: H.E.R.O. and new Pitfall Harry sprite
Atari: Centipede
Data East: BurgerTime’s Peter Pepper
IREM: Mr. X from Kung-Fu Master
Konami: new sprites of Frogger and Lady Frog
Namco: New sprites added of Dig Dug, Fygar, Pac-Man and the Ghost Monsters
Nintendo: Donkey Kong, Donkey Junior, Mario and Luigi sprites
Sega: Pengo and Flashgal
Taito: Space Invader (cabinet art version)
Universal: Mr. Do

Mini-logos: Berzerk, Burgertime, Centipede, Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Junior, Frogger, H.E.R.O., Kangaroo, Lady Bug, Mr. Do!, Pengo (in-game), Pitfall, Puckman, Stern, Sunsoft, Q*Bert, Universal, Wizard of Wor.

This really brought back some good, old memories, like the days when I’d go to Lawson’s to buy comics and candy after playing the Star Castle or Mario Bros. coin-op machine. There will be at least one more update like this (though not as big) like this in 2013 to help fix the balance of 70’s-early 80’s material on this site, but I plan to mix in more classic material like this into future updates.

December will have one more themed update to pay tribute to some 1987 games celebrating their 25th anniversaries. There will probably be a small update or two with random stuff in them, too. Be sure to stop by the Illmosis site to see new art projects and pixel art gallery pages with those “work progress” animations that show some of the things I did to make the sprites. Enjoy the update and the rest of your extended play weekend!