MYTHS:
There are many myths about digital art, here are a few i encounter most frequently:
- The computer does all the work
- The program makes it instantly better
- Filters make it easy
- Digital is easier than traditional
- Digital art is replacing traditional
- It requires little or no skill to create good pictures
- Digital is a style
- Those who do digital artwork have no skill in traditional medias
- Digital art is faster
- It isn't drawn by hand
As you see, to any self-respecting artist who dabbles in digital media, these can be quite insulting. It's belittling, telling me my picture that took 8 hours is worthless! The reality is that most people who say these things have never used digital media.
TRUTH:
-How can the computer do all the work? When you open up WordPad does it type a story or write your essays for you? No, if you don't start typing you'll be staring at a blank screen. When I open up Photoshop or Open Canvas or The Gimp it's the same deal; if I don't start drawing nothing happens. The computer is a tool, in order to get output you need to give it input. No, you can't just run a script or batch file on Photoshop and have it draw for you either.
- I have used many different programs and none of them have made my art better looking. My inprovement is due to practice and gaining skill. Sure there are little effects and such that you can splash on, but they DO NOT MAKE UP FOR LACK OF SKILL.
- Filters make it easy? You've got to be kidding me, when filters are used it's quite obvious. They make photo editing easy, but not creating masterpieces. FILTERS DON'T MAKE UP FOR LACK OF SKILL.
- I have used both traditonal and digital media and i can't say one is easier than the other. To the contrary, the same skills cary over. No program has an "instant art" filter or the like.
- Digital art is not replacing tradtional art, except maybe in the advertising world. Pencil and paper will be around untill we run out of plants to make them with, and by then i'm sure we'll have found something else to draw with. We can always sketch with a stick in the sand if it comes down to it. Unless we completely get rid of reality and live in a total digital world there will always be traditional media.
- By now I'm hoping you understand that filters and effects don't make up for lack of skill. You can NOT make a masterpiece in any program with out understanding the basics of art, you need skill! I dare you to prove me wrong. It's been attempted, but you can't make a picture look like a million bucks with a few clicks in Photoshop.
- Digital art is not a style it's a media. Painting is not a style it's a media. The 'new document" is your canvas, the colors are there to choose from; the tools are there as well. Instead of picking up a new tool, you click on one, same difference really. The mouse i hold in my hand is like the pencil or the brush. New document is to canvas as mouse is to pencil.
- My digital pieces actually take me longer than my traditional ones; but over all this depends on the speed of the artist, not the media.
- When people say it isn't drawn by hand or infer it by calling traditional art "hand drawn", it makes me laugh. I don't hold the mouse with my foot or my mouth, it's right in my hand! I use the mouse as i would a pencil or paint brush.
Those of us who work in digital media often have strong backgrounds in traditional works. We find it offensive when you try to demean our hard work. Please, if you're going to talk about digital art be sure to know what you're talking about first. There is no easy button or make great art filter in any program. Don't try to convince me that i'm wrong here. I use numerous mediums and i know how digital art works. I MAKE IT, the computer's only involvment is that it runs the program.
Tanqexe
The difference between traditional art and digital art is that they operate in two completely different environments. Traditional art arose from using tools to manipulate different chemicals in the molecular, physical environment as a form of expression. Digital art arose from using tools to manipulate pixels (2-D) and voxels (3-D) of the digital environment as a form of expression. You will find that the tools of the physical world have made their way into the digital world. It's simply a new playground, like the Internet was versus the traditional communication network.
If you just sit down and think about it, digital art is really just the evolution of traditional art to take advantage of the best that advancing technology can offer. In the end WE are the important ingredients to art; everything else is just an expendable tool waiting for us to use, and use skillfully.
This nonsense about traditional art disappearing is nothing but headless chickens trying to scream that the sky is falling.
If you just sit down and think about it, digital art is really just the evolution of traditional art to take advantage of the best that advancing technology can offer. In the end WE are the important ingredients to art; everything else is just an expendable tool waiting for us to use, and use skillfully.
This nonsense about traditional art disappearing is nothing but headless chickens trying to scream that the sky is falling.
There is NO reason for digital artists and tradional artists to fight each other. We are all artists, you should respect someone for their creativity. The media one chooses should not be an issue, unless things get hurt or people wind up in jail. It's freakin' stupid for people to jump all over digital artists and call them "cheaters", "fakes" and say that they're not real artists. Digital art is not blasphemy for cripe's sake, it's just another media. It's not killing anything so pipe down and go back to your artwork and leave me to mine.
On another note, i've gotten some complaints about crappy digital art...
If you think that there is more ''craptacular" digital art than traditional, maybe that's because digital art is easily shared over the computer, more so than traditional works. The computer is a great way to communicate and art is everywhere. You are more likely to encounter digital on the computer (as you are traditional off the computer); so of course you'll see more shitty digital ones than traditional. You can just as easily create a crappy looking drawing with any media. It's about the ARTIST not the MEDIA.
As a side note from the previous paragraph, on the computer you're going to see more digital artwork, that doesn't mean it's taking over!
PLEASE DO NOT EVER GIVE OUT YOUR PASSWORD UNLESS YOU WANT TO GET HACKED.
Community Member