Last Updated on March 7, 2024
Digital painting is quite similar to traditional painting, except that instead of using some paint and canvas, you would create your masterpiece in a computer. A digital painting could possibly be first created through free hand using traditional painting medium such as acrylic paint, oils, ink, watercolor, canvas cloth, or paper, and then digitalized after by means of computer software such as Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator among others.
The Technique
There are a number of different forms of digital art – photo manipulation, pixel art, digital photography, motion graphics, to name a few – but digital painting is not quite like the others. This is because in digital painting, computer rendering from a model is not involved. The painting is to be done directly on the computer with the use of software that has visual boxes that are digitally styled to replicate the effects of traditional painting tools.
Most digital painting software programs even allow its users to create their own brush styles using different textures and shapes, making it possible for them to create unique designs and effects. This ability is also what bridges the gap between traditional and digital painting.
Traditional vs. Digital
One of the main differences between traditional and digital painting would have to be its process. In digital painting, the artist can arrange his or her painting in such a way that layers can be edited independently, and has the ability to undo or redo some strokes. A digital artist has, at his disposal, several tools that are not available to the traditional artist. These include a wide variety of colors to choose from a virtual palette, the ability to take back mistakes, effect tools, among many others.
Digital Painting Tools
While traditional artists use paintbrushes and canvases as tools of the trade, digital artists rely on their computers, mouse, or graphics tablet. A graphics tablet allows the artist to work with precise hand movements which pretty much simulates the feel of a real pen.
More than the joy of not dealing with dirty paraphernalia, the speed of digital paint is much faster to work with as compared to physical paint. Creating a digital painting masterpiece can take hours, days, or even weeks to finish, just like a traditional painting; however, the speed of digital paint can be freeing to your creativity. It seems to be much easier to take control of the flow of your ideas when working with digital paint.
Here are examples of digital paintings that will nurture the creativity in you.