07:49
Faizan
In present day with the ever increasing integration of technology into everyday life, digital art is becoming more and more prevalent in today's art scene. It seems that the art world, especial the new generation of artists, are more inclined to using digital media to form works of art, and traditional media seems like a foreign concept to some. The big debate among some seems to be "which is better?"
What is Traditional and Digital?
First of all let's define what I mean by "traditional" and "digital." Traditional mediums include things such as, charcoal, pencil, paint, pastels, etc; applied to paper, canvas, or other surfaces. Digital mediums include the use of digital art programs such as, Photoshop, Paint tool Sai, gimp etc; along with the use of a usb/wireless drawing tablet or more expensive touch screen drawing tablets. Now that I've got that out of the way, let's talk pros and cons.
Pros and Cons
With digital media comes the ability to produce an infinite amount of copies, both tangible and intangible. However the, what I like to call, "original value" is nonexistent. This is the value of the original piece that you get with traditional pieces, which is often exponentially higher in price than that of prints of the original piece. However the options within digital media are almost infinite. Depending on the program you can imitate most traditional mediums. You can create what appears to be an oil painting with the use of a tablet and a computer. And all without the mess! However it is just an imitation of the original medium. There are things that you can accomplish with traditional media that is much harder, if not impossible to achieve on a digital canvas and vice versa.
Price
Now let's talk price. It's hard to say which method of art is more expensive. On the surface, it would appear that digital would be the cheaper of the two because it eliminates the need to continually replenish art supplies. However when you break it down, it doesn't seem as cheap. Though there are some programs that you can download free of charge, such as Gimp and Paint Tool Sai, the more "prestigious" programs can be pretty pricy. Photoshop programs can range anywhere from $50 to $200 plus. But then again, you should only have to purchase the program once. Tablets can also be pretty pricy, looking at Wacom drawing tablets, they range anywhere from $79.99 (Intuos Creative Small Pen Tablet) all the way up to $2,799.99 (Cintiq 27QHD Creative pen and touch display). Doesn't sound so cheap anymore does it?
But then again you can say also that "well you only have to spend that money once." However, with my experience and the experience of digital artists I know personally, that is not necessarily true. As we all know, technology does not last forever. The one drawing tablet that I have owned, with mild to moderate use, began to have technical difficulties within the first year. You could argue "well that could have just been the model and brand," however digital artists that I know have had similar experiences with tablets of different models and brands. I know one artist who has gone through 4 tablets in the last 4 years. Though these tablets are also considered to be on the lower price range of tablets, they still had to be replaced. Though the higher level tablets may not need replacing as often, they still may eventually need replacing or need maintenance. So is it really cheaper in the long run?
What is Traditional and Digital?
First of all let's define what I mean by "traditional" and "digital." Traditional mediums include things such as, charcoal, pencil, paint, pastels, etc; applied to paper, canvas, or other surfaces. Digital mediums include the use of digital art programs such as, Photoshop, Paint tool Sai, gimp etc; along with the use of a usb/wireless drawing tablet or more expensive touch screen drawing tablets. Now that I've got that out of the way, let's talk pros and cons.
Pros and Cons
With digital media comes the ability to produce an infinite amount of copies, both tangible and intangible. However the, what I like to call, "original value" is nonexistent. This is the value of the original piece that you get with traditional pieces, which is often exponentially higher in price than that of prints of the original piece. However the options within digital media are almost infinite. Depending on the program you can imitate most traditional mediums. You can create what appears to be an oil painting with the use of a tablet and a computer. And all without the mess! However it is just an imitation of the original medium. There are things that you can accomplish with traditional media that is much harder, if not impossible to achieve on a digital canvas and vice versa.
Price
Now let's talk price. It's hard to say which method of art is more expensive. On the surface, it would appear that digital would be the cheaper of the two because it eliminates the need to continually replenish art supplies. However when you break it down, it doesn't seem as cheap. Though there are some programs that you can download free of charge, such as Gimp and Paint Tool Sai, the more "prestigious" programs can be pretty pricy. Photoshop programs can range anywhere from $50 to $200 plus. But then again, you should only have to purchase the program once. Tablets can also be pretty pricy, looking at Wacom drawing tablets, they range anywhere from $79.99 (Intuos Creative Small Pen Tablet) all the way up to $2,799.99 (Cintiq 27QHD Creative pen and touch display). Doesn't sound so cheap anymore does it?
But then again you can say also that "well you only have to spend that money once." However, with my experience and the experience of digital artists I know personally, that is not necessarily true. As we all know, technology does not last forever. The one drawing tablet that I have owned, with mild to moderate use, began to have technical difficulties within the first year. You could argue "well that could have just been the model and brand," however digital artists that I know have had similar experiences with tablets of different models and brands. I know one artist who has gone through 4 tablets in the last 4 years. Though these tablets are also considered to be on the lower price range of tablets, they still had to be replaced. Though the higher level tablets may not need replacing as often, they still may eventually need replacing or need maintenance. So is it really cheaper in the long run?
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