Want to know what the benefits of Digital Art are? – This article is designed to answer that exact question…
Digital art is the process of creating artwork using computers and software. As computers and software have become more powerful and transportable, the digital art world has become more accessible and the artwork being generated has risen to an outstanding level. I am not here to say that digital art is in anyway better than physical art because they are very different but as someone who travels over an hour each way to Downtown Chicago, I do like the ability to easily draw and paint on my iPad or laptop when I am on the train.
I did say that I am not here to state which is better out of digital art and physical art but I am going to talk about some of the benefits of digital art. There are lots of reasons why creating art digitally is faster than physically and here are a few…
Digital Art Saves Time
Oil painting is one of my favorite art mediums. From the smell of the paint to the textures you can create but it takes a long time to set up. It takes a long time to mix colors and huge amounts of time to clean paint pallets and paintbrushes. With my iPad, Pencil and the right software I can start a digital oil painting in less than 10 seconds and when I am done, I can clean up at the click of a button. I spend a lot of time on the train and in airports – having the ability to quickly create art wherever I am in the world is a huge factor for me.
If you ever painted in oils you will also know how long it takes for your paintings to fully dry out. I experimented with an impasto technique following a visit to see Van Gogh’s sunflowers at the national gallery in London and the painting did not dry out for about 4 months – Now you will struggle to get the same effect digitally but pixels dry in seconds.
Another thing which makes digital art faster is the ability to copy and paste. If you want to paint 99 red balloons in watercolor then you are painting 99 red balloons…If you do it digitally then you can paint one and copy & paste it 98 times – how’s that for saving time!
Digital Art Saves Money
This one might sound a little strange but I genuinely believe creating digital art is cheaper than physical art. an iPad or a laptop with the right apps and software might cost you $1,000+ but physical art is also pretty expensive. Pencils, paper, canvases, easels, paints, paintbrushes, palette knives and all of the other things you need soon gets expensive and they all need replacing – things can easily reach that $1,000 mark and beyond.
Digital Art Saves Space
Drawings and paintings can take up a lot of physical space. From all of the pieces of paper which can build up to all of the canvases you have to store, it soon starts to take up space.
Digital art only takes up hard drive space and with cloud storage technologies, there is potentially limitless space out there for you to create forever.
I have a lot of physical drawings and paintings which are stored in folders and storage boxes in my garage. Some of them took me weeks to complete yet they never see the light of day now – it sounds crazy to say this but they just kept building up and the only time I look at them is when I see pictures of them on my phone or on my social media accounts
Digital Art Is Great For Beginners
If you are just starting to learn how to draw or paint then digital art is extremely forgiving. No need for hours of rubbing out and screwing up pieces of paper when Ctrl+Z (undo) and Ctrl+N (New document) achieves the same thing. Software such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator or Artrage will also allow you to trace over images – Yes, this is cheating a little but it’s a great way to start learning artistic styles and build up a little confidence as you find your feet.
I am not in any way suggesting that creating digital art is better than creating physical art but it just works best for me right now. Like everything else, the only way to improve your drawing skills is to practice and digital art gives me that option on a daily basis. Whether I am commuting on the train or waiting at an airport, I can get my iPad or laptop out and be creative.
Thank you for reading this article and whether your preferred method is physical or digital, just go create something