The age old question of drawing digitally vs traditionally. While people have their preferences in what they draw in, there is no strict rule that “This medium is much better than X or Y”, simply because of the fact that these statements are based on a subjective look on the matter.

In fact, this blog post and the questions I am going to address and answer are also subjective opinions, so if possible, at the end of this blogpost I would want you, the reader to walk away with some new information that you might remember for a long time or forget when you go to bed for the night; Do I care if you remember? No, not really. I’m sure there’s other essays that would say the same thing as well.

Traditional Media or Digital Media? What’s the Difference?

Drawing Traditionally or Digitally; it’s a conscious choice that a lot of artists make when they first start drawing. Excluding costs and physical storage, we will discuss the benefits of working by hand in comparison to using a computer.

When you draw traditionally, you can feel the tangible connection between medium and yourself as the artist. Some people create art simply because they love interacting with their own mediums in a physical sense. Just like muscle memory, when you played ball as a kid, you would learn how to kick, throw, and catch the ball, therefore aiding you in learning how to interact with the same types of objects in the future. In this manner, depending on the artist, drawing traditionally could help retain essential motor skills related to creating art.

That is not to say that you cannot re-create the same effect with digital medias, however when you draw or type on a computer, the user is not physically writing or drawing things with their own hand, in this case it’s with a medium that assists you in creating these symbols.

Does that mean using a Computer is like a Crutch?

No, it’s not like that at all. In fact it’s just the same as Traditional Media, except for the fact that your interactive media has changed. Using the Ball example from before, instead of committing your interactions of the ball to your muscle memory, by using digital tools to create digital artwork, the emphasis is placed more on retaining knowledge of the program and it’s interactions.

To sum it up, Traditional Media and Digital Media have no clear advantages when it comes to learning, however the way you learn and retain information will differ slightly between each other.

When Drawing, Are You Using Different Parts Of Your Brain?

In my own experiences, whenever I draw or sketch, I have no idea as to whether I’m using my left-side of the brain or the right-side, or if I have a brain at all.

While I cannot comment on if I’m using different parts of the brain (I most likely am), I can definitely say that by drawing and sketching out ideas or problems, this gives me an avenue to solve those ideas or problems in a different manner.

I think the value in drawing is that although you may or may not use different parts of your brain, drawing and sketching will influence how you think and process information, as well as how you solve problems in any medium; whether it be literary problems or visual ideas.

To sum it up; I cannot comment on if drawing uses different parts of the brain, however by drawing and sketching, the practice and thought process of drawing and sketching has given me more avenues to solve problems.

Which Media do you Prefer and Why?

As a general consensus, I like both mediums but for different reasons. On a day to day basis, I am a digital artist and I create digital art. The goals that I have in mind and career path that I want to head down towards requires me to draw digitally and familiarize myself with digital tools.

Now if I had the choice of picking Traditional or Digital, would my opinion change?

No, not really. In the sense of Digital Art, I am not limited by costs or space, and the only investments that I make related to creating Digital art are the tools that I will utilize.

Another reason why I would choose Digital over Traditional media is simply the fact that you have absolute freedom in what you create. There is no worry about buying the right canvas, paints, tools, primer, solvent, etc. With Digital Art you can simply create whatever you want, whenever you want.

I did mention however, that I do like both mediums. When it comes to a traditional sense, I use traditional medias to help aid me in practicing fundamentals and retaining relevant information related to creating artwork as a whole.

As I mentioned before about motor skills and muscle memory, by drawing traditionally you have a grounded sense of rules that you are restricted by, and by drawing with pencil and paper, the ability to retain symbols and ideas is easier in comparison to Digital Media, because of the tangible interaction between the artist and the medium.

That same freedom that Digital Media provides can also be a detriment to learning, as having too much freedom to process things and learn might result in the artist wandering aimlessly looking for something that could improve their skillsets.

So to sum it up, I prefer working in Digital Media because of the accessibility and I also like Traditional Media for learning because of the grounded rules and tangible interaction between the medium and artist.