How do I create digital drawings and art?
This is the most frequent question I am asked and of course it is understandable. Often, people more familiar with traditional art have seen little or no digital art before, especially digitally drawn art that is then printed onto fine art paper and framed.
Digital drawing is when a drawing is created using graphics software. Instead of using a traditional pencil and paper, digital artists like me draw with a tablet or computer, along with a device such as a mouse or stylus. Here you can think of the screen displaying the paper or canvas in the software, and the stylus/mouse as being the pencil or brush. Together with these is a selection of tools to draw with in the software so you can change brush and pencil types etc.. The software also contains the colours to use, which can be blended (imagine mixing paints).
A key point to understand about digital drawing is that it is still controlled by a human hand, it is merely another medium to create art. And just like traditional drawing, the outcome is dependent on the skill of the artist.
Is digital drawing more difficult than traditional drawing?
Probably, it is. Most people have tried to draw a shape freehand on a screen and the control needed is exceptionally high. It’s very difficult and only becomes easier with practice, just like traditional drawing.
Digitally drawn lines can also be erased. A difference I like about digital drawing is that not only can lines be erased they can also be moved and changed. This advantage helps overcome some of the challenges of drawing digitally, as you can refine the drawing.
Aren’t digital drawings just tracings?
Not at all. I often work from a photo as a reference, but usually more than one photo. Tracing is often part of the process, but this is still a difficult skill on screen. Choices about what to trace and leave out are part of the creative process. Often a photo is very blurred or lacking the detail and details are added. The photo is just a reference, and increasingly I use tracing less in my art as I explore styles and abstract ideas. Let us also not forget that tracing is often part of a traditional art process – most watercolour artists for example do a faint pencil drawing on the paper before applying paint to guide them.
Isn’t it just the software creating the art then?
When it comes to digital drawing the answer is absolutely not! There is a proper creative process and technical skills involved. The art is created on screen and stored in a digital file rather than on paper/canvas. From there it can be displayed and used on screen (e.g. a website), or printed out on a variety of mediums including fine art paper or canvas.
Computer software exists (e.g. Photoshop) that can of course take an image or photo and apply a filter that manipulates the original image into something else. This isn’t the same as digital drawing, even if the outcome looks something like a digital drawing. This where there is a significant difference between the limitations of what computer software can produce artistically verses what a skilled digital artist can create. Artist talent and ability will shine through every time!
What software do I use?
I predominantly work with Adobe Illustrator, which is a vector graphics software program. Vector lines differ from pixelated lines in that they can be moved more easily, and the artwork created is infinitely scalable without losing any image quality. This makes for stunningly crisp and clear lines and shapes.
To draw I now use a Wacom Intuos Pro graphics tablet and pen after many years drawing with mouse.
I’ll be doing more blog posts about how I work and my creative process, but any questions or comments please get in touch!