Sunday, April 24, 2016

Why the vs. in traditional and digital art?

Drawing on most of my free evenings, and loving art, I also love seing other peoples artworks!

Because of this, recently the topic of traditional and digital art came onto my mind, a lot. Most of the digital artworks I come across are visually stunning. I wish I could do this! And maybe I could, but for me, it is just not appealing to sit in front of a screen in my free time. On the other side, with Chennai's summer heat, this would be easier.

digital art
traditional art




In my eyes, digital art is fast advancing, and became a very important part in art and creative industries. By now, there are even AI and software that paint on their own!

While digital art is so appealing, there are also some points, that might be drawbacks to some, and plus points for others.

For example:

  • Some say, in digital art the 'soul' of the creator isn't there, you can't see the artists character and emotions, as he/she actually never really touched their works with their hand. Some even say that digital art isn't real! But isn't it also the thoughts, ideas and overall impressions that show us about the artist? A novel wouldn't be any less real if typed on a computer or written by hand. We are in a digital age, and of course it has also effects on any kind of arts. Maybe one day, it even can fulfill our desire to 'touch' and feel with our own hands.
  • But, it gives a lot of features that traditional art doesn't have. You can have layers, change sizes easily, make special effects, patterns are done fast, and so on. And, you can erase your mistakes without a trace! On traditional artwork, depending on the medium, it might be anything from easy to impossible. But many things that are learned and taught in traditional arts, are needed for digital arts as well. The way light and shadows work, colour theories, anatomy... it is needed for both.
  • In the end, most artist use both, I guess. There are so many that sketch and draw per hand, just to scan it in or make a photo. For some that's enough, others colour and paint their creations using digital software. And others, make everything digitally, without even touching any paper!
  • Whenever new media became popular, the old ones were afraid to disappear. It was the case with hand written and printed books, ebooks, desktop computers and laptops, art and photography, wood, plastic and electronic toys and the list goes on. Yet, all of it still exists, side by side! 

In the end, we can all be lucky to be able to chose our favorite type of arts, and to use whatever medium that is available to us. Be it pen and paper, sticks and sand, a camera or tablet. No matter what we use, in the end many people, have an urge and need to be creative, and it is that creative process that counts, not whether the tools were 'traditional' or 'modern'. 

Here are some more inputs and thoughts about the topic:


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