Working digitally has been a recent and hot trend for many artists, whether they are seasoned creators or just newly introduced to the world of art. Each method not only produces different results but also different processes.
One key difference between working by hand and digitally is the amount of time and effort spent before starting the creation of the work.
Working by hand requires much more planning and thinking before starting the project as there is little room for mistakes and revisions. Ideas behind the piece can be better fleshed out before starting the creation of the work, but it can also take a long time to create the artwork due to the worry. not being able to undo your mistakes. In addition, if you’re more worried about completing the project due to a deadline, time could also be taken away from the planning stage in order to finish.
However, the motion of using a pencil to sketch and try out different ideas is what sparks creativity. Using quick and dirty lines without care for visual quality is what allows artists to generate as many ideas as possible and eventually choose the right one. In comparison to using a mouse to click and drag to draw, there is less care for what the image looks like and focus can be on the idea. However, this is also why many modern artists use tablet pens on their screens.
When working digitally, edits can be done in any part of the process. The freedom of making any kind of change eases the pressure of doing something perfect or even good the first time. New ideas that appear later in the process are not as much of a hassle to incorporate and there is freedom in developing your idea as you go (even though this will end up taking time).
Many digital artists nowadays use tablet pens to first sketch and then execute the piece. Even though they are still performing practically the same motions you get with holding a graphite pencil and using your brain and your hand to draw, there are still differences to drawing traditionally. Since the sketches are being on a program, there are still many more tools available to use that pencil cannot do, such as colour, creating quick perspective grids, or using different brushes to get different styles. These easy-to-access tools can either overwhelm or invigorate an artist in the sketching phase, but ultimately, it depends on who is using the program.
It’s easy to think that working digitally is the better choice. It’s easier to make changes, effects that can’t be done traditionally can exist on the screen, and many programs have made shortcuts to help speed up the process. However, it is also easy to fall into the trap of using digital mediums because it is easy to visually enhance a piece.
My preference is to use both traditional and digital mediums to create a piece. In many cases, I prefer to create initial sketches via graphite pencil in my sketchbook and then use a digital program to refine the sketches into a final piece. The tactile aspect I can get from drawing on paper isn’t something I can have with a digital screen and this “roughness” is what helps me generate many ideas. I find that using digital mediums hinders my thought process as I get too worried with colour and the right brush to use when I should already be putting down my ideas. In the end, I like to finish with a digital medium as I get more flexibility in the final look of my piece and changes that I want to make to build upon my initial idea can be done. In addition, I can finish quicker by working digitally as I can lose the worries about making irreversible mistakes.