Posted On: February, 28, 2006 14:02:49 By

Digital Art -vs- Traditional Art

Digital Arts effect on Traditonal Art and Vice Versa

With high quality full color printing, digital art can become a physical tangible piece that looks exactly as the artist intended it to look, and it can be just as impressive as an actual painted canvas.

Ever spend so much time on the computer that when you are actually drawing (and I mean, a pencil actuallymaking marks on paper) you get the urge to undo, stepand repeat, or copy/paste? Is the digital age ruining the desire to create traditional art? Digital art may rival, but will never replacetraditional art, and we cannot forget that. The time, effort and knowledge it takes a master to create awater color, oil painting or pastel drawing forexample should be highly admired and appreciated by today’s digital artists. Digital art is an evolutionof traditional methods, but will it ever have the samerespect as an actual painting? I don’t know if it should actually.

When it all comes down to it a piece of traditional art is truly one of a kind. It can never bereproduced… never. Sure it can be photographed withthe best digital camera, scanned into the computer, color corrected in photoshop, printed as an offsetlithograph or serigraph onto the best paperimaginable, four process colors, several spot pantones… dull varnish, glossy varnish… spot varnish,the works! But still, it will never be the exact same piece that the artist thought up, sketched out,perfected, painted, toiled and sweated over, maybe even cursed at a few times until it was finallycomplete.


Any good digital artist has the same knowledge of light, shadows, forms, shapes, line, color, anatomyand mediums that traditional art is based on. Withoutknowing these fundamentals any type of art will suffer. A lot of time and effort can be spent on adigital piece, but is it the same as the time andeffort spent on an oil painting? I can’t say. It is more efficient to duplicate traditional methods on thecomputer, but it still takes the knowledge and time.It is a lot faster to create a digital painting: notime spent mixing paints, stretching and priming and canvas, letting layers of paint dry, cleaning brushes,but it still takes an artist to create a high qualitypiece of digital art.

My digital artwork, which consists mainly of ink drawings with digital colorization, would suffer hadI not learned the proper techniques of traditionalart. I am pretty happy that I can do what I do with little physical resources. All I need Is paper,pencil, pens, a computer, and a scanner. I do notnecessarily need to have knowledge of painting, all I need to know is how to use the computer program to getthe effect I want. And I can get exactly what I want, if I don’t likw what I see at first I can just undo, and re-do until I get what I am looking for. If thework needs to be smaller, it can be resized. If theperfect color is needed, it can be found with ease. Digital art has the flexibility that traditional artdoes not.

With high quality full color printing, digital art can become a physical tangible piece that looks exactly as the artist intended it to look, and it can be just as impressive as an actual painted canvas.

Digital art is easily duplicated and reproduced and can be viewed easily on screen. Editing digital art is also pretty quick and easy to do in most cases. These advantages are also disadvantages since is also makes it easy to steal, alter and copy art work with out the artist’s permission.

Many traditional artists are incorporating digital art as a part of their preparation work. An artist can digitally mock up a composition for a painting, research and arrange photos… test out color schemes, all before ever picking up a brush. This saves a lot of time and energy for the artist.

Digital art is as an evolution of art itself, and is definitely a valid art form. It will never replace traditional art but is nothing to look down upon. It takes a great amount of skill, effort and patience, just as traditional art does, but nothing beats a one-of-a-kind original painting that is 100% unique and authentic. That can never be reproduced.

10 Comments Posted So Far:
Posted By: Anthony Woodward On 2006-08-17 03:00:12

In 100 years, digital Art will be traditional ;)

Posted By: Britt Anderson On 2007-04-25 14:51:28

I think this:

In 100 years, if traditional art will be digital, then digital will become virtual. And we all know anything vertual may as well not even exist. How will we know if what we're looking at is a real work of art or just an illusion?

Posted By: Katherine On 2007-08-29 10:04:23

Scientifically and spiritually all is an illusion anyway. All we are are what is on this moment. Memory and thoughts and fears of the future are all just imaginations. The whole world is the creativity of One Consciousness
which pervades all. The same Consciousness enlivens every form (love thy neighbour as thyself) and creates. Resistance to the creativity of the one Consciousness comes from egotism of the "little me". All is God's creativity - computers, computer music, computer art, the internet - all is God's creativity and we are privileged to play with it. Painting digitally (Corel Painter X is a master software program for this) is as engrossing as traditional painting, but not so messy and one's creativity is not hampered by
glitches like the paint has to dry first, ink fell over my masterpiece, I have to buy more vermilion before I can continue, I need more stretched canvas before I can express my idea. None of these problems exist with digital painting. It's the same with music. Yes, the unplugged guitar is beautiful, the piano, trumpet, clarinet, violin and all the other instruments are beautiful when played perfectly with other instruments. Then came digital music and the arguments against it, but the beauty of digital music is stunning, a whole new vista on music. The new digital developments in all fields are all progress. They broaden the fields of expression. The fields of expression by the One Consciousness, the One all-pervading God. Long live digital painting! Long live digital music. Aand long live all forms of expression, no matter whether digital or traditional. The joy of the creator
beams through them all.

Posted By: Katherine On 2007-08-29 10:08:31

Scientifically and spiritually all is an illusion anyway. All we are are what is on this moment. Memory and thoughts and fears of the future are all just imaginations. The whole world is the creativity of One Consciousness
which pervades all. The same Consciousness enlivens every form (love thy neighbour as thyself) and creates endlessly. Resistance to the creativity of the one Consciousness comes from egotism of the "little me". All is God's creativity - computers, computer music, computer art, the internet - all is God's creativity and we are privileged to play with it. Painting digitally (Corel Painter X is a master software program for this) is as engrossing as traditional painting, but not so messy and one's creativity is not hampered by
glitches like the paint has to dry first, ink fell over my masterpiece, I have to buy more vermilion before I can continue, I need more stretched canvas before I can express my idea. None of these problems exist with digital painting.Creativity is unbridled. It's the same with music. Yes, the unplugged guitar is beautiful, the piano, trumpet, clarinet, violin and all the other instruments are beautiful when played perfectly with other instruments. Then came digital music and the arguments against it, but the beauty of digital music is stunning, a whole new vista on music. The new digital developments in all fields are all progress. They broaden the fields of expression. The fields of expression by the One Consciousness, the One all-pervading God. Long live digital painting! Long live digital music. And long live all forms of expression, no matter whether digital or traditional. The joy of the creator
beams through them all.

Posted By: seth teeters On 2007-11-19 12:22:57

Digital art can be transferred easily to literally hundreds of other mediums. How effective is a piece of art hung on a wall in one fixed location that only hundreds can see -vs- one that can be printed on tshirts, stickers, and whatever else to spread the artists message to a much larger audience.

Obviously there is a place for both, but Art has always been an illusion, the digital illusion is no less real.

Posted By: dc On 2007-11-22 06:23:17

...art was an illusion to begin with...

Posted By: Jay On 2007-11-28 20:57:46

Isn't the grand scheme of art to just create an illusion?

Posted By: He-Man On 2009-01-15 05:10:45

Why does this Digital VS. Traditional persist? It's yet another example of creative people trying to quantify their level of greatness. It's the most "unartistic" question. You use what you can to express yourself. End of story. Worrying about a medium dying is BS. Do what you like. Duh.

Posted By: Al Francis On 2009-05-04 03:34:38

anybody happen to know who the author of this article is? it has some very impressive arguements that i'd like to cite for a term paper

Posted By: Marina On 2009-05-18 19:36:41

It's not the "ILLUSION" that is called into question, it is the technique.

Not all art is for creating illusion, artist were always revered because they have a skill. This article was about skill.

Digital art is an art form, but deep down I doubt it will ever replace traditional art. It takes much more patience, skill, time, and energy (especially physically) to create traditional art. Think of murals.

Digital art = less talent and brains. Period.

I think people with less skill love the comp because it's easier to use. God forbid anyone suffer for their art.

Post A Comment