“In Defense of Digital Art” In the end, I really think that what makes art art has far more to do with the content of the piece, the skill with which it was executed, and its overall impact. Medium—digital or traditional, oils or acrylics, pastels or colored pencils, and so on—has nothing to do with it. ____________________ I’ve encountered a few folks who seem to be under the impression that digital art is cheating and is therefore not art at all. Likewise, in my time in art school, a few of my professors held digital art in high dudgeon for the same reason. So let’s take a look at how it actually works is and why computers and tablets aren’t magical devices that turn non-artists into artists. First off, you still have to be an artist to do digital art. I know, I know. It surprised me to learn this too, but it is true. It took me a while, as it does for a lot of newbie digital artists, to learn that you have to actually paint in shadows and highlights like you would in a traditional painting. That is, you have to have a good understanding of color theory same as you would if you were painting in acrylics. This is something you must learn just like every traditional artist does. The successful digital artist needs to have the same training and skills that a traditional artist does. You need to understand form, composition, negative space, color theory, perspective, anatomy, etc., etc. In truth, then, digital painting is, like oils are to acrylics, simply a different medium. Now, I’ve seen some traditional artists grant that the digital artist needs to have the same skills they have, but remain adamant that painting digitally is still some form of cheating. The argument seems to go that because digital artists can hit “command + z” (or “control + z” as the case may be), they’re not really doing art. Poppycock. The existence of a shortcut is not enough to disqualify something from being art. (Heaven forbid we should use tools that make our lives as painters a little easier!) If that were so, I’d say today’s painters aren’t really doing art because, unlike the painters of the past, they don’t make their own pigments anymore—that I know of. If such artists do exist, I’d ask them if they were aware of the existence of art supply stores and their magical, pre-made paint that comes in tubes and whether they find their straightjackets comfortable. In the end, I really think that what makes art art has far more to do with the content of the piece, the skill with which it was executed, and its overall impact. Medium—digital or traditional, oils or acrylics, pastels or colored pencils, and so on—has nothing to do with it.” -L.L. Frank #art #artist #digitalart #digitalartist #jmokosdesign
Posted on: Thu, 15 Jan 2015 18:04:50 +0000