MacPaint Art from the Mid-80s Still Looks Great Today

#1

Post by decryption » Sat, Jul 12, 2025, 8:45 AM UTC

MacPaint Art from the Mid-80s Still Looks Great Today
blog.decryption.net.au

Re: MacPaint Art from the Mid-80s Still Looks Great Today

#2

Post by aidos » Sat, Jul 12, 2025, 9:25 AM UTC

Love it.

At the end of the article they mention digging in to the Amiga scene. If you want to feel old, Deluxe Paint turns 40 this year. My mates had Amigas (I had an Amstrad) and the computing world just felt full of wonder and promise. It was a magical time of creation.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deluxe_Paint

Re: MacPaint Art from the Mid-80s Still Looks Great Today

#3

Post by gxd » Sat, Jul 12, 2025, 9:38 AM UTC

Awesome! You can also find great art made with Deluxe Paint for the Amiga. The limitations from early computers in resolution and, most importantly, palette, create unique art styles:

https://amiga.lychesis.net/applications/DeluxePaint.html

Re: MacPaint Art from the Mid-80s Still Looks Great Today

#4

Post by reconnecting » Sat, Jul 12, 2025, 9:42 AM UTC

Then we should probably mention

http://macpaint.org

(From page HTML source)

Does anyone even remember why Netscape 4 was bad?

Re: MacPaint Art from the Mid-80s Still Looks Great Today

#5

Post by keyringlight » Sat, Jul 12, 2025, 9:50 AM UTC

gxd wrote: post #3

Awesome! You can also find great art made with Deluxe Paint for the Amiga. The limitations from early computers in resolution and, most importantly, palette, create unique art styles: https://amiga.lychesis.net/applications/DeluxePaint.html

There was an article posted here not too long about with a similar sentiment about the NEC PC-98

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44076501

Re: MacPaint Art from the Mid-80s Still Looks Great Today

#6

Post by Mizza » Sat, Jul 12, 2025, 9:57 AM UTC

That first one looks like a parody of 'View of the World from 9th Avenue' but I don't know what Acius was!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/View_of_the_World_from_9th_Ave...

Re: MacPaint Art from the Mid-80s Still Looks Great Today

#7

Post by perihelions » Sat, Jul 12, 2025, 9:57 AM UTC

I think the .png images on this website are larger than the uncompressed originals (1-bit depth, 1 bit per pixel).

Re: MacPaint Art from the Mid-80s Still Looks Great Today

#8

Post by zozbot234 » Sat, Jul 12, 2025, 9:58 AM UTC

Thanks for finding this! A relic from a more civilized age.

Re: MacPaint Art from the Mid-80s Still Looks Great Today

#9

Post by decryption » Sat, Jul 12, 2025, 10:01 AM UTC

perihelions wrote: post #7

I think the .png images on this website are larger than the uncompressed originals (1-bit depth, 1 bit per pixel).

Yep, I upscaled them by 400% so they’re easier to view on modern displays.

Re: MacPaint Art from the Mid-80s Still Looks Great Today

#10

Post by RayBarfing » Sat, Jul 12, 2025, 10:01 AM UTC

rembrandt paintings from the 17th century still look great today