Three years ago, I (Sammy here, hello) set out to create one pixel design a day to pair with a fact about the planet. Not because I had to for work, a school project, or anything else – but because I wanted to. I wanted to make a difference in the world, and I figured my art would be the best way to do that. I initially only set out to do this for one year, but thanks to all the love and support I received, I kept pushing on. I made it 760 days without missing a day, and even after, kept going (just at a slightly more sustainable pace 😉). Pixel Planet Today has since pushed past 1,000 posts and has grown more than I ever thought possible. We have a newsletter, eco-friendly stickers for sale, we even have over 360 million views on Giphy!
Each year, I like celebrating the progress of the project, not to egotistically bask in glory, but to look back and appreciate how far this once-small thing has come. Especially for when I was posting everyday – it was so easy to blindly create and create and create, all while never seeing any progress. The creating, researching, writing, editing, and (miniscule amount of) networking took so much time that it was impossible to enjoy the progress being made. I do miss the “weird flex, but okay” of saying I post environmental pixel art everyday – however, being able to actually see/create progress in the project (and actually enjoy it) is game-changing.
How game-changing? So game-changing that I am finally able to do what I’ve wanted to do for so long; what I’ve wanted to do since I surpassed the first year of Pixel posts: start a green tech company. I’ve always wanted to spend my life making art, caring for the planet, and building useful software, but it took a long time to figure out how I could roll it all into one professional goal. This company, called Terrabyte (Terra because Earth, byte because technology), will be an outlet for just that, and will hopefully become the home of many helpful, insightful, and impactful conservation-based projects.
You have, of course, already become familiar with the first (starts with Pixel, rhymes with Ixel Janet Olé), but the second is a bit more on the fun side (and the ‘doing’ side). Pinekeepers is (or more so, will be) a retro-inspired game that takes trees saved in the game, and turns them into real-life saplings! The game is very early in development, but we’ll be sure to share more info soon (in the meantime, there’s a teaser up for you to feast your eyes on 😉).
A little less game-changing, but still happy growth: we’re going to be adding more items to the online store, and we’re starting with bookmarks! We’re much too familiar with the concept that businesses need money to grow, and while it may come as surprising, stickers are not the goldmine business they are pictured being. Bookmarks are assumingly not either, but they’re definitely not the last product that we’re planning on adding. 😊
The other thing I like doing on these project anniversaries? Thanking everyone for making all this possible. Theoretically yes, I could just send pixel art and planet facts out into the void everyday (kind of how it seemed in the beginning days of the project 😅), but it’s YOU who makes it worth it. A climate education project is nothing if no one reads the posts. A reforestation game can’t replant the forest if no one plays it. A green tech company can’t exist if no one knows about the tech. Thanks to you and your support, not only have I been able to continue posting pixel art and planet facts, but push towards my dreams and work towards building a greener tomorrow. I seriously can’t thank you all enough. 😊❤️🌎