Since I was a baby and could hold a pencil, my hands-on work has begun. It was present in school including anything I have written or drawn. The traditional painting has also been the first art form I’ve been introduced to as I was growing up in Ukraine. I had mastered my traditional drawing skills first which allowed me to build a connection with paper and learn how different materials work. When I went to school in Canada I have started using computers for projects as typing things out in word dock or even drawing using digital media later on when I turned 13.

As a university student I now work a lot using digital media for my illustration and design projects. Sometimes I even take notes on my laptop because it is faster and I will not loose my notes unless I loose my laptop. However, any project starts with sketches done in pencil in a physical sketchbook for me. Those might be simple doodles, but the hand flows more naturally on paper. This has became part of my process. When I create traditional art it holds a physical meaning and thats why I still have an album of my old doodles and childhood drawings. It is nice to be able to touch those little memories from time to time.

When I write or draw traditionally it becomes a therapeutic and enjoyable process. In the summer especially I prefer to spend some time outside in the garden drawing flowers or places using watercolours.

Digital media also has plenty of benefits just as traditional media does. For example, I can use layers and effects to enhance my drawings speeding up my execution process. Adding more details with unlimited colour choices or using different tools to achieve different appeals does not use any of the different materials since they all are provided by the program. Another benefit would be that after a painting session there would be no cleanup necessary.

Here is an example comparing the life drawing sketches I did. At first I preferred to learn how the material would behave on paper to get a good sense of the media. This took multiple sketches and practice. When I was more comfortable with the material I have experimented drawing digital sketches immolating that now familiar media with higher control and precision. Both sketches are different where traditional media expressed more free flow and digital media allowed for more control.

I have realized that I can’t say that I prefer one media over another completely since in different scenarios I prefer different methods. For example if I was painting some summer flowers outside I would definitely go for watercolours. On a school graphic design project however I would prefer to digitize my art since changes and small tweaks become easier to accomplish. Both hands-on and digital work process have lots to offer and I don’t want to miss out on any.