ABOUT ACME PIXEL

WELCOME TO ACME PIXEL, THE CHEZEM STUDIO PIXEL FACTORY.

Acme Pixel is a Digital Art Boutique catering to B2B, Marketing, Communications and Publishing. • Specializing in Digital Art and Founded by Doug Chezem in 1987.

The Acme Pixel website is a Commercial Art showcase of Technical, Scientific, and Information Graphics. • The lllustration Style is an Airbrushed Realism look with 3D CG Modeling and Special Effects.

We provide Assignment Illustration, Custom Stock, Production Art and Project Outsourcing to the Trade at unbeatable prices.

A little history

In 1982 Doug got his hands on an Apple Lisa and in 1983 the first color desktop; the Seiko 9500.  He was bit by the Computer Graphics Bug.  [pun intended].

In 1987 Doug made the move to Digital from the traditional Airbrush, Paint and Colored Pencil.  But he wanted to keep the original Chezem Studio going with his traditional art, portraits, commissions, etc,.  So the Acme Pixel Factory was born.

I always loved the name “Acme Dot Company” from the Warner Bros. Roadrunner Cartoons; ACME Holes.  And, as I was an Airbrush artist since 1974, I was all about the ”Art of the Dot”.   (Airbrush lays down tiny dots of paint or dye).  The Digital Age introduced the ”Art of the Pixel”  (a Pixel is a single bit in a Bitmap Image, and a single dot on a CRT or Monitor).  And so I came up with the name “Acme Pixel” for the Industrial/Commercial art branch of the Chezem Studio.

“Acme Pixel;  The Worlds Finest Pixels”

Acme Pixel specializes in 3D CG digital illustration with an Airbrushed look or style.  We cater to B2B (business to business),  Agencies, Design Studios and Publishers.  Providing Illustration, Info-Graphics, and Production Art.  Maintaining that Airbrushed look but with all the advantages of Digital Art.

A Commercial/Industrial, all-digital, Art studio, Acme Pixel also provides Digital 3D Illustration, Technical Art, and Info-Graphics, for Corporate/Institutional, In-House, and Graphic Design.

About the Founder…

My career as a Commercial Artist began when I landed a job as a paid intern at one the largest of the old style Big Studios on the East Coast. It was the last of the big studios from the Golden Age of Illustration and Commercial Art: Creative Arts Inc.. This was a time when the industry was moving towards smaller Design Firms and outsourcing Illustration. I was lucky enough to be apprenticed to a couple of old timers who taught me commercial painting and Airbrush illustration techniques. I learned from two of the best airbrush artists in the business; Irv Aronson and Boothe Farcus. In addition to the Art Department, I was also apprenticed to the Design Department where I learned Graphic Design techniques.

I advanced to Art Director, moving upward to three different Design Studios and eventually moved up to Advertising, finally becoming President/Creative Director of AdLantic Concepts.

In between corporate gigs, I started a freelance business, opening the Chezem Studio in 1980.
On my third stint as an Ad Agency Executive, President and Creative Director, I became increasingly dissatisfied with the distance I had created between my work and my love for art and illustration.   So I threw off the Corporate suit and tie, and set up shop as a full time Creative Director and Illustrator.

I made the transition from Airbrush and Paint, to Electronic Media in 1986 and began to specialize in Digital Painting for the Science, Technology and Telecommunications industries and the Business to Business Market.

In 1987 I started a Digital Studio spinoff, and Acme Pixel, the Chezem Studio Pixel Factory, was born.

I have lectured on Electronic Art at George Washington University, at the Corcoran School Of Art and for the Art Director’s Club in Washington DC. I have also lectured on and demonstrated Digital Art techniques for Agencies and Design firms. During the 1990′s I was a Macintosh Digital Art Evangelist to local Ad Agencies and TimeLife Books.

Doug’s background includes Design & Illustration, Scientific and Technical Visualization, Advertising, Exhibit Design and Construction, and Digital 3D CG Illustration.

My Commercial style and speciality is Stylized Realism. My work is a mix of traditional media techniques and, digital methods using stateoftheart 2D and 3D CGI software. My NASCAR Pop Up, A Guide to the Sport, was done in my ”Info-Graphics” illustration style, with an Airbrush look and feel.
I am currently pursuing a more painterly style using digital tools, and am developing a series of posters and books for sale from my fine art site. (Link will be posted when ready)
Chezem.com will showcase my artbooks, posters, portraits and paintings.

Doug’s technique and work methods…

I use a Wacom Cintiq Graphics Tablet/Screen with the Art Pen and Stylus, on a MacBook Pro with a 23 inch Flat Panel on my old Arnal design table. Thanks to computers, my studio workspace has shrunk but I still maintain my old “Analog” oil and acrylic painting studio. I used to paint on Strathmore board at 30×40 and 40×80 size. Now I can paint anywhere with my MacBook Pro and Tablet. [and an extension cord].

Adobe Photoshop is my primary software tool. Everything I create starts out and ends up in Photoshop. I was a beta tester for the prerelease version in 1989, and have been using it ever since. Over the years it has become the DeFacto world standard for 2D imaging and painting. Before that I was using Adobe Illustrator when it first came out in 1987, and Color Studio which has since evolved into Fractal Design Painter, currently published as Corel Painter. I gave up the perspective grids, pens, templates and curves and adopted 3D software in 1989. My first 3D app was Swivel 3D. Over the years I’ve tried them all and finally found a real gem from Maxon Computer called Cinema 4D BodyPaint. I’ve been using Cinema 4D in tandem with Photoshop since 1999. But I will always have a soft spot in my heart for my previous favorites, the venerable LightWave 3D and Electric Image Animation System, both still on the market today.

My latest and most exciting software program is Zbrush from Pixologic. Zbrush is an amazing application that brings together traditional drawing, painting, and sculpting with new 3D modeling and 2.5D paint. I’m currently incorporating it into my current workflow. But one thing that has never changed is my use of Pencil and Paper. I don’t think anyone can improve on that even though many have tried.