Digital Art vs Traditional Art

Art has come a long way since the days of the first cave painting. Artists are now used to representing their emotions, thoughts, creativity, and ideas to others through digital forms of art.

These days, digital art is fast becoming the new norm. However, as with any newer artform, some skeptics and traditionalists can consider it a more accessible or inferior art form that lacks the human touch. Regardless, digital art is still widely popular and is now the most commonly used art medium for commercial art and design purposes.

New to digital art? This post will answer everything you need to know about the pros and cons of both traditional and digital art. So, let’s get right into it!

What Is Digital Art?

Digital art is defined as art created using tools such as computers and digitally coded information. The purpose of all art forms is to capture the composers, message, ideas, or emotions and put them on display for others or themselves to enjoy. Similarly, digital paintings are a way for artists to express their feelings and can be considered as an art form. Digital art can include many subcategories, such as digital paintings, photographs, videos, and animations.

Digital art first appeared in the 1960s, and since then, various names for what we now call digital art have been used, including multimedia art or computer art.  Digital art itself is usually placed under the larger category of  “new media art,” which also includes digital photography. Increasingly, digital art is also becoming closely associated with crypto art, although crypto art actually refers to the digital sale process, not the creation process.

What Is Traditional Art?

As opposed to digital art, traditional art is made using more physical conventional media such as pencils, charcoal, oil paints, clay, and such. This form of art has been in use for many centuries before the creation of digital media and is still widely popular to this day. Traditional art forms include the seven forms of fine arts. These fine arts are drawing, painting, sculpture, architecture, cinema, music, and theatre. Most of these traditional forms of art can now be recreated with a digital experience or alternative. What distinguishes classic art from digital art forms is the physical presence.  

What Is the Difference Between Digital and Traditional Art?

There are many similarities between digital and traditional art since digital art often replicates conventional art styles. However, there are also many differences between the two art forms.

Digital art is much more forgiving to artists when mistakes are made since they can simply undo and give it another go when mistakes happen. For example, an artist painting in photoshop can erase an error, but an artist painting on canvas can not so easily undo a mistake.

Art made with digital media also looks much cleaner because digital tools without physical form are used instead of traditional tools. Delivery of digital art is also much easier as it often only takes a few mouse clicks to deliver your art to any destination around the world.

Traditional art, in comparison, is much less forgiving of mistakes. Errors are permanent and physically can not be undone completely; this can force artists to restart entirely when big blunders occur. However, the process can become part of the appeal of traditional artwork. The layers used to cover mistakes that can be seen in older oil paintings, for example, provide a certain quality that has collector appeal.

Physical paints and canvases occupy more storage space and make the workplace much messier. Transport and storage of traditional art can also be much more challenging due to being real physical items.

One of the most significant differences between traditional and digital art is the ability to make multiple reproductions. The ability to easily mass-produce digital art makes some people believe it is of lower quality. Rarity has always impacted the price of fine artwork, so artwork that can be reproduced or sell multiple copies naturally has less monetary value. However, that does not always make the creative quality of digital artwork any less than traditional. 

Which Is Better: Digital Art or Traditional Art?

Art is always about capturing the composer’s message, emotions, and visions first and everything else like the medium used comes second. There are pros and cons to both traditional and digital art forms, but you cannot place one above the other. Art is art, and a good piece of digital illustration can bring up the same feelings as any other traditional painting.

If you measure quality based on the price, you may assume that traditional art is better than digital art. Indeed, one-of-a-kind artworks have typically seen the highest prices and collector value. However, NFTs and crypto art are gaining momentum equally, and digital art is increasingly fetching prices that rival traditional artworks. 

Is Digital Art Easier Than Traditional Art?

Both forms of arts require a certain degree of skill and talent, but due to being so different they also require a different kind of mindset and approach. Still, digital art can be just as challenging as traditional art. Younger generations are more likely to learn digital art during school, but that doesn’t stop older artists from embracing digital art as well.

Even though digital art can give you the convenience of being able to undo mistakes, it still takes a decent amount of hand skill, experience, and knowledge to make a good piece of digital art. Digital art can be as complex as traditional art, and good digital illustrations can take countless hours and days to finish. 

Can Digital Art Replace Traditional Art?

Traditional art has existed for centuries before technology and will continue to exist despite the rising popularity of digital art. It was once feared that photography would completely replace painting and drawing. Instead, the mediums have found a way to co-exist. Art history has taught us that when new mediums are discovered, the older ones still remain and are appreciated.

Additionally, traditional art has significant historical significance and can never be replaced entirely. The avid collectors market also has not lost interest in traditional art despite digital reproductions of classic paintings becoming available. This ongoing appreciation is because art created physically with a human touch on traditional media will always continue to intrigue art collectors. 

Collecting Traditional & Original Artworks

Although you may know less about digital art than you do about classical artwork, it’s never too late to learn. Crypto art can be a great way to learn about and collect digital artworks. If you like the work of a digital crypto artist, then buying digital art could be a good investment, just like buying traditional original artworks.