Flynn Matthews 
Art is a great way of sharing with others what people see or think. The application of art has been in use since the beginning of humankind. As time goes by, people come up with innovative ways to illustrate what is in their minds. Today, we have digital art, which is quickly taking the place of conventional art. However, the latter never loses its value. It is still used in various places like commercial illustrations all over the world. Highlighted below are the differences between the two types of art and their applications today.
Traditional Art
Most people will understand what traditional art is if they see it. Better yet, they will enjoy seeing the illustrator create it. It is prepared using traditional materials and tools like physical paint, brushes, pencils and canvas just to mention a few. Long before computers came into our lives, illustrators would use traditional art to express various ideas. So, what does traditional art involve?
- Drawing what you see – with a pencil in the hands of a talented artist, drawing what is seen is very possible. Some like drawing people while others like drawing landscapes. Irrespective of what is to be drawn, artists need to have it in front of them. It may be real or in a photograph.
- Drawing from imagination – we all imagine what specific things would look like. An illustrator who draws from imagination can express dozens of ideas in one drawing. It is the best way to express the artist’s mind. Subjects of illustration pulled from the imagination can be anything from existing things to those that we have never seen in our lives.
- Painting – this calls for the use of colors in a less precise way than drawing. Broad strokes are used instead of lines, and therefore, there is no need for fine details. However, the final product is a realistic illustration with meaning and attractiveness.
Digital Art
On the other hand, we have people who use the computer to create their illustrations. Instead of using paint and brushes that can be touched, sophisticated computer software is programmed to generate a visual on the screen. It turns the screen into a canvas and provides various capabilities like different colors, texture, brushes and many more.
One good thing about digital art is the capability to modify your work until you get the ideal finished result. Before saving the work, one can delete, modify colors, change textures and make many other modifications. Better still, you can have many variations of the art for the client to choose one that she or he likes best.
- Digital drawing – illustrators use a stylus that works like a pencil. With this, it is easy to achieve numerous drawings and outlines just like in traditional art. However, this is dependent on the software one chooses to use. Check out some examples of the best drawing apps on Pixpa. Today, this is an even better method because people can use tablets instead of a desktop computer.
- Digital painting – this is where the fun is for illustrators who love colors. Some software can mix the colors to create a variety of options. Again, it works like a conventional painting except that a digital platform is used.
Both digital and conventional art are used to create similar results. However, the differences lie in the platforms used.
