Digital and Traditional Art

Digital Art:
Digital art, once called computer art or new media art, refers to art made using software, computers,
or other electronic devices. Anything produced or made on digital media, such as animations,
photographs, illustrations, videos, digital paintings, and such can be classified as digital art. Digital
art is a term used to describe art that is made or presented using digital technology.

A Short History of Digital Art:

The first use of the term digital art was in the early 1980s when computer engineers devised a paint
program which was used by the pioneering digital artist Harold Cohen. This became known as
AARON, a robotic machine designed to make large drawings on sheets of paper placed on the
floor. Since this early foray into artificial intelligence, Cohen continued to fine-tune the AARON
program as technology becomes more sophisticated.

Digital art can be computer generated, scanned or drawn using a tablet and a mouse. In the
1990s, thanks to improvements in digital technology, it was possible to download video onto
computers, allowing artists to manipulate the images they had filmed with a video camera.
This gave artists a creative freedom never experienced before with film, allowing them to cut
and paste within moving images to create visual collages.
In the 1990s, with the introduction of the personal computer, the improvements in digital
technology, and the emergence of the internet, not only did these developments provide artists
with further creative freedom but also offered new ways to experience art with a growing interest
in the interactive nature of their creative output.

Traditional art:
Traditional art is made using more physical conventional media such as pencils, charcoal, oil
paints, clay, and such. This form of art has been in use for many centuries before the creation of
digital media and is still widely popular to this day.
Traditional art has always been the source of inspiration for many artists and designers. With its
conventional look and feel, it appeals your visitors and let them amaze on your creativity and
artistic skills.
The traditional way of looking at art, namely the visual arts, suggests that there are five basic
elements of an artwork line, shape, color, texture and space.

Basic History of Traditional Art:

The earliest known examples of art created on a flat surface date from 30 000 BP or later, from
the Later Stone Age of Namibia, the Late Paleolithic of Egypt and the Upper Paleolithic of Europe.
Traditional arts are a kind of arts, which are a part of any culture, skills and knowledge of a group
or generation of people. The people or group generally belong to the historical era/ times. These
art forms comprise of anything done with the hands, such as the painting, printmaking and
sculpture among others.
Importance of Traditional Art:
Traditional art is like a parent in the family tree of the arts. Its DNA is still identifiable even given
the passage of time and generations.
Traditional Arts provides a shared experience for the community. Values and belief systems are
often embedded in these art forms and passed down through generations; as such, they form a
common language through which we can engage the various communities that make up our
society.

Difference Between Digital And Traditional Art:

Advantages of Digital and Traditional Art:

Digital Art Traditional Art
Involves lesser costs compared to Traditional art is more Realistic.
traditional art.
Can be done faster than traditional art. Helps in improving skills.
Easy to store and transport digital art. Less chance of duplicating the work.
Easily undo errors and help in drawing Don’t require electricity.
with perfection.
More Efficient: Easier to get started and Original Physical Artwork: An original
work quickly. piece of art is often considered worth
more than a print or digital file.
More Exploration: Unlimited Equipment/Materials.
experimental possibilities.
Can be done faster than traditional art. The flaws of art created by hand have a
unique authentic value.

Disadvantages of Digital and Traditional Art:

Digital Art Traditional Art

Unlimited Possibilities. Limitless Mistakes of hard to remove. Mistakes
possibilities can lead to creative can’t be undone, only embraced or
paralysis. covered up.
No Original Copy. No original physical Difficult Reproduction Process.
copy. It can be printed on textured paper Requires a scanner or digital camera.
but it’s not the same as an original
painting.
Too Easy. Some say the undo button Equipment/Materials. When you run
makes digital art too easy but I believe out of something you need to buy more.
that’s a misconception. It still takes a
great level of skill in the fundamentals
of art to produce good digital work.
can’t work without some expensive Comparatively Expensive to make and
Digital tools. sell.
Cannot work in the case of power Hard to store/transport.
failure.

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