From primitive cave paintings and perfected oil portraits to installation art and performance pieces, digital art is the newest medium to hit the art world. Is it easier than traditional art? That all depends on what you consider ‘easy’.
If you consider ‘easy’ to be quicker to learn, cheaper to create and more accessible to the billions, then yes, digital art is easier!
I’m Carolyn Murphy and I’m a Fine Art Painting graduate with a successful digital illustration business. I’ve spent the last decade of my life expanding my skill set and transitioning from fine art to digital.
In this article, I’m going to cover some of the most commonly asked questions about learning digital art and why it’s easier than traditional art.
If you’ve ever considered making the transition to digital art, starting fresh, or simply want to keep up with the times, then keep reading.
Before getting started, here’s a quick summary of the difference between digital and traditional art.
Table of Contents
Digital Art vs Traditional Art
Digital art is artwork made using technology such as design software, computers, and tablets. It can be digital drawing/illustrations, graphic design, vector art, 3D designs, and even animations.
Traditional art is generally produced using real physical media such as paints, pens, pencils, brushes, papers, etc. It’s not limited to visual arts, because music, poetry, drama, sculptures, etc are considered traditional art as well.
Now that you know the difference, your next question might be, is it easy to learn digital art?
Let’s find out.
Is Digital Art Hard to Learn?
Yes and no. Yes because it’s easy to get started, and no because you need to invest time in learning it if you want to create complex projects, but it’s not impossible.
If you have access to or have the budget to invest in some technology, you can get started with as little as three items: a device such as a tablet or a computer, a stylus or digital pen, and a choice of design software such as Procreate or Adobe Illustrator.
In this case, it’s a lot easier than learning traditional art which involves a lot of theories, concepts, and different mediums to create art.
5 Advantages of Digital Art
Let’s take a closer look at the advantages of digital art that make it easier to learn than traditional art.
1. Free Resources
Through blogs, websites, and videos, you can easily learn different skills and techniques at no extra cost and without formal training or education.
2. Affordable Materials
Design programs are becoming more affordable and some are even free. There are always options that offer one-time purchases or annual subscriptions for endless usage.
3. Technology
Design software is enhancing rapidly, allowing users to create more advanced artwork.
4. Freedom & Flexibility
Digital art doesn’t require a studio or vast amounts of expensive materials like painting or print work, allowing digital artists to create and/or work anywhere at any time.
5. You Don’t Have to Be Picasso
While being able to draw is essential for some aspects of digital art, it is not essential for all. There are plenty of functions and tools you can use to create artwork without necessarily having strong drawing skills, you just have to learn them first!
3 Disadvantages of Digital Art
Well, nothing is perfect. Here are some down points of digital art.
1. Authenticity
As most digitally created artwork technically has no original copy, many people don’t consider it unique or genuine artwork. It also lacks the “emotional” touch that traditional art has.
2. Very few artists’ rights
Your work can be duplicated identically with little to no legal repercussions.
3. Possibility of Becoming Obsolete
New AI technology, I won’t name names… is constantly working on creating software that eliminates the need for human digital artists at all.
They are starting to release programs that can create original artwork within seconds using descriptions and keywords, eventually eliminating the need for us talented humans altogether.
Conclusion
Having the passion to learn will have you on your way to becoming a digital artist a lot quicker than if you were to learn color theory or composition to become an artist without a trained professional nearby!
Don’t get me wrong, I truly value the importance of traditional art and I would be devastated to see it flounder. But for my artwork, the future is digital.
I hope this article gave you a brief insight into why I believe so greatly in digital art. I also hope it gave you some thinking points if you’re considering a career transition into this wild and wonderful world of digital creation.
If you found this article helpful or have any questions or feedback, please feel free to leave a comment below so we can continue to learn and grow as a design community.