traditional - digital

[Darkside]

hi guys,

I´m wondering if you can learn and practise drawing(painting) on the digital medium, or if you have to hold a pencil and such in your hands.
I experienced that I´m very lazy when it comes to drawing with pencil but I can easily sit in frond my pc and start doodling around.
would be cool if anybody could tell their own experience.

(sry for my bad english, not sure if I expressed it all right)

T

[AnarchyAo2]

I suppose you could learn basic drawing skills... Like, you could learn the basic principles of drawing in general, but you couldn't draw with a pencil as well as you could with digital. Plus, you're limited to drawing in your house if you use a PC to do art. Its also going to be really hard to progress without a tablet.

[Signature]

People who start with traditional art need to learn how to do it properly to get good results.
People who start with digital art are often happy with the fancy stuff that the computer can do for them.

With the computer it is easier to fix proportions and change things in general after you mess them up.
As AnarchyAo2 wrote ... that is cool as long as you don't try to draw something with pencils like you would doodle digitally.

There are no good reasons to not draw traditionally though.
If I were you I'd try to find out how drawing traditionally would be fun for me.
You can probably develop a routine if you find out why it doesn't work for you yet.

[Darkside]

I have no real problem with drawing traditionel, I just feel more comfortable with my wacom doing sps or such. but studies and lifedrawings are a must with pencil IMO.
but, for example, what happends if you draw only digital for a while, then go back to some pencils. will you be better or might have lost your drawing skills?
this is not really a question, I do both, but I am interessted in other peoples experiences.

T

[Ilja Murometz]

Hey man, another fellow from Cologne,
Ich glaube das kommt ganz darauf an mit was für sachen man arbeitet.
Falls du viel am Wacom sitzt, wird sich das nicht negativ auf deine Fahigkeiten
mit nem Stift auswirken. Meiner Meinung nach aber solltest du, falls du gern
mit Öl, Aquarell, Acryl oder so was arbeitest lieber zuerst kennenlernen wie
sich diese Sachen in Wirklichkeit verhalten, zum Beispiel der trocknungsvorgang von Guache, der ja sehr schnell ist oder Öl, das gegenteil davon. Ich persönlich bevorzuge traditionelle Medien, weil man das erschaffene Bild in den Händen halten kann. Ist aber ne Geschmackssache.

[dagreengo]

I've been using a Wacom for a couple years now, and I think my skills have really improved. I can usually create what I sought to create. However recently my computer crashed, and I've been limited to traditional pen and pencil. I'm really surprised at how lacking my skills are. I thought I'd be better, but I haven't sketched with a pencil in so long. It's hardly believable. Definately gotta keep practicing with pencil and pad.

[Darkside]

dagreengo, this is what I thought would happen. perhaps we could start a discussion here why it is so. one big thing in digital art is the "redo" function, but honestly I didn´t use it much in drawing, more in 3d apps.
like Ilja said, you can hold a trad. piece in your hands, but I don´t think that is the main issue.

@Ilja
if you draw in oils, acrilycs etc you are prepared to the digital medium, cause you have an idea of colors, when to use which, and which to mix. but in return, if you can paint in maybe pshop, can you transfere these skills to the real canvas?

[Ni*]

i thought i'd trow in my views on this...

I got into drawing again last year after a long period of inactivity and i think the best progress i've made has been with a pencil. I find with digital work I have less patience and it is too easy to save for later and start again, never going back to the origional piece of work... whereas, with real media, i am far more willing to work on a drawing because i cant hide it away so easily. Also you have to work over mistakes rather than simply undoing them and i find this highlights errors.

in short, digital is great, there are no real limits but there is still a gap or buffer zone between you and the work, but pencil and paper allows tactile feedback and much finer control. so i think practice with the simplest tools can allow for the best learning experience, no to mention a huge confidence boost when you go back to digital again.

most importantly, enjoy what you do.

N

[Signature]

It is not just the undo tool. There are layers ... you can move selections to make huge changes ...
you can play with levels and saturation later and so on. You get careless.

If you work digitally and develop bad habits you start tweaking too much and wasting a lot of time.
When you work traditionally you are more careful because you have to be.
The closest thing to digital doodling would be filling countless sheets of paper carelessly IMO.

I'd try to find an efficient way of doing digital studies. Kinda like Craig Mullins does it.
Try to get things to look good right away. Look with how little you can get away.
Find out what gives the most "bang for the buck".

You'll get better at that and those skills are traditional-art-compatible.

[Darkside]

good points signature, layers are indeed a huge difference.

Ni*, these are also right, can´t hide them ;) yes, I think you can make biggest and fastest progress with pencils too.

[HexKrak]

The way I see it, they are 2 very different mediums. You can take some techniques from one and apply them to another, but there's so many differences, from the way you can hold a regular pencil, to the way you hold a paintbrush, then the way you hold your wacom stylus.
I prefer the digital environment myself because of its versitility of tools, and of course the undo button, and an erasor that works with paint. There is of course the disadvantige that unless you have a laptop you're confined to the spot infront of your computer to do your artwork.
I think the moral of the story is they're both great useful mediums, but if you want to be good at both, you have to practice both. I wish I had a scanner, I could do my lineart on paper then scan to add colour and touchups.

[Valcon Jet]

my take on the whole thing is that people with a more linear nature should fare well with traditional media, but non-linear people would be better suited to a digital environment, as it requires less planning.

the planning aspect of traditional media is often overlooked, sighting, measuring, blocking out highlights, etc, before paint is ever on the page. and then layering in a situation where you have to know what it will look like *before* it's done.

i've done a fair share of both traditional and digital art and i can say that i feel more comfortable working digitally, because of it's non-linear nature, while admitting that i would never change my experiences with traditional media, because the handling of tools and the excersize of planned thoughts was excellent for me.

basically, just preference

[dagreengo]

i agree with what hexcrack was saying.

they're both great and have their common points, but unless you actively practice in both mediums, you wont be able to maintain a high-skill with either. i feel that digital is most like painting, however i have never taken a painting class, nor have a truely tried to paint on canvas. i can't say wether lots of practice with digital painting will give me any skill in real-world painting.

however i don't think there is anything about digital that makes it any less worthwhile than traditional. it has been my experience that traditional-only artists frown upon digital painting. i don't think this is necessary, because the computer doesnt 'do things' for you. the computer has different tools and tricks, just like traditional painting.

a good artist will find what works for them and lets them express themselves more freely, regardless of medium.

[lostmyway]

you cant create digital oil painting if you dont know how to paint in oils. Pick up a paintbrush some oils and some canvas and just paint. then you bring that knowledge into ps or painter and create those effects because you know what they look like in real life. digital is really used for commercial artists that need to pump out work fast(like a contractor for a game or something), but can be invaluable. learn to paint then go digital. thats just my opinion though. just most importantly above all DO SOMETHING.(even if you start with digital, because procrastination kills)lol that reminds me i havve some un finished work that needs tending to. laetor.