Pixel is short for “picture element”, and is the smallest part of an image that can be controlled. A pixel is a small portion of a greater image and can only contain one color at a time. By combining a large amount of pixels together in an arranged grid with varying colors, it creates an image. Each pixel contains information about color and brightness depending on the specific image. In a grayscale image, a pixel represents a single brightness value, ranging from black to white. By varying the brightness, it produces different shades to create depth within the image. In a color image, each pixel is composed of multiple color channels, such as red, green, and blue (RGB), and each channel contributes to the overall color of the pixel.
Considering that pixels are the building blocks of images, they play a major role in how images are represented by 0s and 1s, otherwise known as binary representation. This is a process called digital image encoding, or in other words, digitization. It involves converting the visual information contained in an image into a digital format that can be understood and processed by computers. To store the pixels that depict an image, it is stored sequentially in memory or in a digital file format such as JPEG, PNG, or GIF. This digital format allows the whole of the image to be in 0s and 1s, with each binary digit corresponding to a specific pixel’s color and brightness. Each image differs in 0s and 1s depending on the size of the image or the number of colors available within the image. When the image needs to be displayed and/or processed, the reverse operation occurs, which means the binary data is decoded to reconstruct the original color and brightness values of each pixel.
The image depicted on the right was altered using a software called GIMP. Having only four colors available alters how the image is processed in 0s and 1s and viewed when each pixel is combined together in an organized grid. By having a smaller amount of colors to utilize, it degrades the image quality, creating less detail within the image but still be depicted by the naked eye.
