08/04/2017
Camilla Horrell - Gold Arts Award - Unit 1 Form a View
Is digital art just as important as traditional art?
In my own experience, I have seen many people show a more respect towards artists who are mainly traditional artists, than digital artists. Half of this is because some people may not see the digital art as something the artist has drawn themselves, and instead will claim that ‘the computer did all the work’ or something along those lines. As the art was made with the help of a computer, it is apparently not ‘real art’. Another problem that crops up a lot is art theft, especially on the internet. As soon as an artist posts one of their drawings, it is unfortunately very likely that it will be reposted elsewhere, and inevitably have more attention than the original drawing.
I want to quickly cover the topic of ‘digital art isn’t real art’ that seems to be the mentality of a few people. Most artists prefer to use a computer to create art simply because it’s easier, and is less hassle. If the artist where to make a mistake on a traditional art piece, there is only so much they can do to cover up the mistake. With digital art, it’s a lot easier thanks to Ctrl+Z, so it’s less stress on the artist’s part. Also, it is still possible to paint and do watercolour with digital art, just as long as you have the right tools for the job. All it takes is a quick download of brushes, or one created by the artist themselves, and they are good to go. It is also nowhere near as messy as painting traditionally, obviously. It also has its money perks too. Normally, an artist will have to spend X amount of money on paint, watercolours, brushes etc. and when those supplies run out or become too mangled to use, then the artist will have to pay for them all over again. In the long run, digital art is a lot better financially. In selling digital art, it does come with a few dangers. With traditional art, the commissioner will pay for the work in person, or perhaps with a cheque, then they will receive the artwork when it’s finished. From my own experience and from what I know, it’s less likely for the commissioner to try anything on the artist. With digital art, it’s a little bit riskier. Sometimes commissioners will pay for the artwork over the internet, but then suddenly claim they want a refund or the money back altogether. This is probably because with digital art, it is able to reach a wider audience from all over the world, and the commissioner may take the ‘not in the same area/region’ as the artist as an excuse to mess with them. With traditional art, it can be a little more difficult to do that. However, websites like PayPal allow the artist to write invoices, so the commissioner can’t get away with the money and/or the artwork as well.
The next issue I would like to cover is the topic of art theft. As traditional art is mainly a regional thing (for example, it is shown in public galleries and museums, rather than online most of the time), it’s a little more difficult to steal it, unless one were to do so in person. With digital art, unfortunately, many see it as fair game. It’s very common that if an art thief is found out, they will feign innocence, treat the artist harshly even if said artist has asked very politely for the stolen artwork to be taken down, or say ‘Well, why did you put your artwork on the internet in the first place?’ The answer to that question is simple, as well as a very weak retort on the art thief’s part, as all artists, young and old, know of the consequences of posting their artwork online. The thief may think they are being smart in asking the question, and that it will shut the artist up, but all they are doing are repeating the same question an artist will ask themselves whenever they post a new piece. Artists use the internet to post their artwork on because it allows them to reach a wider audience. If they showed their artwork only to people in the same region or county as them, they wouldn’t get as big an audience as they would if had been posted online. There is only so much showing artwork in your local town or city can do for you. One interesting topic I saw that arose was that ‘people who draw in a cartoony style don’t do as much work as people who draw in a realistic style’. As someone who draws in both a semi-realistic style and cartoony style, I would have to say that is partially true. A cartoony drawing does require a little less effort on my part as I don’t have to do as much detail, which is why if I’m lacking the energy I may got for a cartoony drawing instead. However, an artist still needs time to translate the anatomy and appearances of characters into a cartoony style, as well as keeping it recognizable. It is easy for an artist to use references for a realistic style, but not so much for a cartoony style. Although one is slightly easier than the other, they still require the same amount of effort, the cartoony style maybe even more so because of how much effort is put into making the characters appear as they do.
In conclusion, I do believe that digital art is just as important as traditional art, as both have their advantages and disadvantages. One isn’t exactly more superior than the other, it all just depends on how people view digital art to traditional art. Regardless, at the end of the day it is still artwork, and art is what we use for all kinds of other media: TV shows, movies, comics etc. Without art, we wouldn’t be able to have all those kinds of entertainment. As the world of art is always changing, and new technology is always being developed, one could say that digital art is indeed as, or even more important than traditional art, as it is more flexible and easier to work with. In a way, you could say that digital art has more uses that traditional, as it is used so often in different kinds of media. Meanwhile, traditional seems to be reserved more for gallery paintings and the like. It is still possible for these two art styles to be used together, as shown by the movie Ponyo by Studio Ghibli, which used traditional pencil sketches at first for the frames of the movie, which was then made digital thanks to the use of computers. Gradually, animation has also become cheaper to create, which is a positive step for digital art and artists.
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