Art has been a part of mankind for a long time and throughout human history, art has evolved into various kinds of mediums and styles throughout different eras and cultures. From primitive prehistoric drawings to the Renaissance and now finally, the internet, there’s no denying that the definition of art has changed so drastically in modern times. With the advent of technological advances and the internet, drawing and painting have now entered into a new realm. And yet, traditional drawing methods from hundreds of years ago still carry on to this day and continue to also thrive alongside its digital counterpart. Of course, this has led to the discussion of “Which is better? Traditional or Digital?”. There’s no ‘real’ answer to this since everyone is different and has different preferences. And at the end of the day, both have their own merits. But for this blog post, I want to give my take on what makes each of these mediums so special and provide my insight. All of what I’m saying is subjective of course since art too is broadly subjective. But what I hope for you reader, is to try and take away some info that you might think is helpful, especially if you are into art.

Traditional: Natural Feeling

As mentioned earlier, traditional and digital drawing both have their merits and weaknesses, and it all comes down to personal preferences. But I guess a good place to start when talking about the difference between the two is ‘feel’. What do I mean when I say ‘feel’. To me, ‘feel’ is about drawing experience. Like “How do I approach this medium for drawing/painting?”, “What techniques do I have to use?”, “What order should I take?”, “How does this brush feel in my hand?”, etc. For me, I think what makes traditional drawing so special is the feel and the randomness of the medium you are using. When you use traditional, you feel the tooth of the paper when you hit your pencil, you feel the paint moving on the brush on the canvas, and you feel the texture of the surface of the drawing. The ‘feel’ that traditional mediums offer creates a personal connection between the artist and the art piece almost like a natural bond. And because different mediums like oil, watercolour, and acrylic each use different types of brushes and painting surfaces, it allows artists to try and adapt to different approaches. That adaptation helps artists to study and muscle memorize what kind of techniques they should use and can help them become more versatile in their drawing skills.


This leads to another beauty about traditional, ‘behaviours’. Every medium doesn’t act the same and therefore, behaves differently. Hence why artists need to adjust and adapt. While that means there is a learning curve when learning a new medium, the behaviour can create a flow in the process of making art. For instance, oil dries much slower which can allow for better blending techniques. Acrylic dries much quicker and can create textured paint strokes and patterns. Watercolour is opaque and can be built up from light to dark. The list goes on. The behaviours of traditional mediums are what makes each of them so unique to use and look at. And working with those mediums can offer an interesting experience. It’s sorta like how a musician plays an electric guitar and a bass. They’re different instruments and so the approach to play them is also different.

Digital: Flexibility and Creativity

On the other hand, with digital, ‘feel’ becomes less prominent. It still exists, however digital doesn’t offer the same variety that traditional mediums do. Digital drawing surfaces are mostly just usually screens like iPads, graphic tablets, and using a mouse. Digital drawing surfaces don’t offer the same nuance and ‘feel’ of what traditional mediums have since most of them are very flat and smooth. This isn’t to say that there can’t be a variety. Some companies like Wacom offer pen tips to make their tablet surface feel more like paper. But even then, an experienced artist who has worked with traditional can still notice the difference. As a result, an artist has to approach digital drawing much differently. Instead of paper, paints, and pens, you have to learn about different software like Photoshop and Illustrator; and know the features that they have to offer. Or the fact that you have to ‘paint’ with a pen instead of a brush. And even when everything is set up, there is the step of knowing how to paint on digital. Painting in digital lacks the nuance of traditional like the wetness of the paint and on the brush and the tooth of the paper. Because of this, there can be a steep learning curve for beginners to try and get into digital. While this can be a disadvantage, the plus side is that it can help artists create muscle memory in how to move their hands. I believe that muscle memory development can greatly help artists in processing information. And I also believe that once you can get over that hump, digital art can be like traditional. Learning to adapt and change.

One advantage of digital over traditional is flexibility. Sometimes with traditional, there are moments where once you have done something, it can be hard to go back. Thus, when you make a mistake, you have to find ways to cover that mistake or frustratingly start over. With digital software, there is the option to undo and redo with a press of a button. So the artist can easily go back a few steps and just try again. This offers a new means of flexibility that wasn’t possible before. And because of that, there’s a more sense of ease since you don’t have to worry about starting over. And along with the options of layers, artists can move around parts of a painting like shadows and highlights or take different artistic approaches in any way they like. That flexibility, I believe allows artists to try and expand their creativity more than ever. With traditional, there is a certain expectation of how far you can go with. Depending on the medium and materials you use, there comes a point where it is difficult to add more. But with digital, layers can be many and so the computer/tablet becomes a playground for the artist’s imagination to expand. Want to add different effects? Go ahead the playground is yours to mess with. Digital can offer possibilities that traditional can’t

Conclusion

While I can go on and on about the difference between working with traditional versus digital, the point is, both have features that make each of them unique. The feel of the randomness of traditional mediums can create a naturalistic bond between the artist and the piece. Whilst digital offers flexibility that allows for more creative possibilities. There are more topics and ideas that I can discuss, but of course, this post would be way too long and it probably becomes hard to read. But I think what matters is that whatever you go with, always try to experiment because you may learn new things that you may haven’t noticed before.