Art is always considered as a way of expressing your creativity, emotions and give shape to your ideas. Since childhood, we are exposed to a lot of different art forms to grow the artistic side of the brain. With the improvement of technology, a new form of art has emerged opening up the portrait for all- Digital Art.
Digital art is an artwork that integrates digital technology as an essential part of its creative process. It includes diverse techniques, from digital drawings and paintings to photos, videos and even sculpture.
It doesn't require long experience in the field of drawing, sculpting or even painting. All that is needed is a will to learn and an electronic device. Digital art is for amateurs as well as professionals.
Depending on the different disciplines and choices, there are many new innovations in the types of digital art. Some of the main ones, are as follows:
Similar to the traditional painting which uses oil, acrylic and watercolour painting, digital painting uses these tools to create a paper-like portrait on the device. You can use either an iPad, drawing tablet, laptop or smartphone along with Adobe Photoshop, Clip Studio Paint, Krita or Procreate. It can mainly be presented in a blockchain as NFTs, or imaginative illustration work in online fantage, science fiction comics and books or social media.
It is very similar to digital painting minus the aesthetics and cleanliness. It is mainly used to produce illustrations, quotes are graphics for t-shirts, logos or other live objects. Vector artists mark points on the software to draw or create a line or any desired shape in between these points. They can then manipulate the straightness or curve of the shape or line to fill and create their own imaginative concept. It can also be considered as a combination of digital painting and graphic designing. One main advantage of this is tits ability to resize into big or small shapes depending on the necessity.
It can be in the form of modelling, simulation or animation, depending on your preference and need. As a step ahead from the vector painting, a 3D art uses multiple planes grouped together called a 'mesh'. This mesh gives a 3D look to the desired object and makes it lively in nature. Sometimes, instead of creating this mesh, you can also animate it.
3D modelling is used for modern games graphics as well as special effects for movies, television, shows, series, architectural mockups and blueprints, animated websites, etc.
3D Sculpting used digital clay to create a sculpture just like traditional sculpting. Addition, omission, stamping, texturing and creating a desired shape by moulding the digital clay, everything cam be done in the online 3D sculpting. It can be done using the Zbrush on the softwares mentioned for digital art. There are also many applications available for the same.
3D animation is a skeleton-based technology to create the illusion of movement in characters, creatures and vehicles which is actually created by the 3D modellers and sculptors. You can use the creations done by them, add the assigned bones and then, decide the movement of these objects. This creates the movement of the objects which will then create a story. It is, again, used in games, movies and television shows to brings characters to life. Some main softwares, include, 3DS Max and Blender.
Matte painting is mainly used in movies and series for an artificial background. It will seamlessly blend with the actual live–action footage or any scene, photography, animation, etc to create an illusion. Using these, directors can easily have huge vistas and scenarios which are grand but realistic.
Under Photomanipulation, a matte painting is done using imagination and creativity for a character based art. This can be used for book covers and posters.
Digital art is popular among both professions/experts and beginners or amateurs. Anyone can experiment with digital art. FOr this, you firstly need hardware. There are four main options for this which are graphic tablet, graphic display, an all in one tablet and a smartphone. There are both very expensive and cost-effective hardware available depending on their functions and utility.
Once you have the desired and convenient hardware, the next step is installation of a software. You can use wide variety of softwares available for digital art. This includes Kria, Medibang Pro, Autodesk softwares. All these are free applications available for Windows, Maz, Android and iOS. If you have some budget, you can also opt for a paid application like Procreate, Corel Painter, Studio Paint pro, Adobe Photoshop and Fresco app.
You have to be extremely passionate about digital art and learning the nuances of it to enter the field. This is because it will take time to become familiar with the software uses and also to the overall painting or any other form of art in a digital art portal.
To start with, decide the subject or theme of your project, think about its expression visually, create an idea board, sketches of images or concepts and ideas, etc. First work on the rough sketch on paper like you usually do. Then, finally, start transferring this on-paper image to a digital medium.
The main way to excel in digital art is practice and practise. Here are basic seven ideas to explore as a beginner in digital art:
Digital art clubs innovation with self-expression and creativity
Any form of art is not just about creating something from imagination or the guidance provided. It is also about the self-expression of an individual. It provides the much needed release of stress, ideas and the voices in your head. Digital Art is an innovative, developing art form in the current age which has progressed after the introduction of different softwares and smart hardwares. It is, thus, a combination of innovation and self-expression.
Yes, it is good for anyone. Beginners can learn easily how to create digital art simply with basic computer softwares and available tutorials. This makes it interesting and a new skill. All you need is persistent dedication and hard work to learn something new.
Digital art has a lot of different themes, types and forms. As it is innovative field, many people are still experimenting with new ideas on digital art. However, the most common type in the market is an animated GIF. Photo manipulation and matte paintings are also in use in the film or entertainment industry.
As mentioned above, digital art is still a growing field with different groups of people engaged in different forms of art depending on their utility, creativity, freedom of expression and of course, choice. However, in today's digital art field, the most popular type of art which is generally known and practised by all is digital painting. It can also be referred to as digital illustration or drawing. It is simpler to start with because it doesn't require any additional knowledge of softwares. You can easily see the resemblances with the on-paper drawing and continue transferring it to the digital portal. You can start using a graphic tablet or smartphone and any digital art softwares available to you.
You can experiment with different devices or softwares before reaching a conclusion on one particular thing suitable for you. Using real brushes and pencils on the screen, you may make art using a drawing tablet. As an alternative, you can utilise the potent software packages Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator to create digital artwork by hand. Apps for photo editing like Photoshop make it simple to use features that are usually only available to specialists in the field. Learning to make digital art can be done in any method.
Digital art is a skill any artist can acquire in this age of technology. It's needed to spread your artwork in the digital world and let people know your ideas and creative side.
Pick your digital brushes and start expressing your thoughts, now!