Comments on: Digital Verses Traditional Illustration http://blog.illustrationcastle.com/2007/05/23/digital-verses-traditional-illustration/ - ramblings & advice from illustrator Heather Castles Thu, 20 Nov 2008 12:36:06 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.4 by: heather http://blog.illustrationcastle.com/2007/05/23/digital-verses-traditional-illustration/#comment-45643 Mon, 25 Jun 2007 00:48:34 +0000 http://blog.illustrationcastle.com/2007/05/23/digital-verses-traditional-illustration/#comment-45643 Hey Jim, Thanks for your comment on my blog about your feelings on digital illustration! I reckon I would have totally agreed with you up until recently when I began seeing more and more digital illustration like Jeremy Enecio's : http://drawn.ca/2007/05/20/jeremy-enecio/ I could hardly believe how painterly this digital style is and how much life and light it has. I reckon that 'cold' digital style is the danger of going digital, but the best digital artists are able to apply their ability to see light to their digital illustrations and create something really warm & inviting. I do agree though that the trap of digital illustrators is to make things too perfect or over-rendered, and art that is beautiful but imperfect holds a real human quality that is difficult to achieve with digital media. Cheers, Heather Castles Hey Jim,
Thanks for your comment on my blog about your feelings on digital illustration! I reckon I would have totally agreed with you up until recently when I began seeing more and more digital illustration like Jeremy Enecio’s :

http://drawn.ca/2007/05/20/jeremy-enecio/

I could hardly believe how painterly this digital style is and how much life and light it has. I reckon that ‘cold’ digital style is the danger of going digital, but the best digital artists are able to apply their ability to see light to their digital illustrations and create something really warm & inviting.

I do agree though that the trap of digital illustrators is to make things too perfect or over-rendered, and art that is beautiful but imperfect holds a real human quality that is difficult to achieve with digital media.

Cheers,

Heather Castles

]]> by: Jim Bryant http://blog.illustrationcastle.com/2007/05/23/digital-verses-traditional-illustration/#comment-45323 Sat, 23 Jun 2007 15:32:20 +0000 http://blog.illustrationcastle.com/2007/05/23/digital-verses-traditional-illustration/#comment-45323 As a traditional Illustrator with a half century of experience in publication and advertising, I find the sterility of digital illustration disturbing. With everyone using the same software, how does one identify the artist by viewing the work? The warmth and humanity are missing. A truly beautiful woman is one with a slight visual flaw that makes her unique: Cindy Crawford's mole, or the gap in Lauren Hutton's teeth. I am repulsed by the absolute cold perfection of digital illustration. Besides, when the power fails I can light a candle and keep working. As a traditional Illustrator with a half century of experience in publication and advertising, I find the sterility of digital illustration disturbing. With everyone using the same software, how does one identify the artist by viewing the work? The warmth and humanity are missing. A truly beautiful woman is one with a slight visual flaw that makes her unique: Cindy Crawford’s mole, or the gap in Lauren Hutton’s teeth.

I am repulsed by the absolute cold perfection of digital illustration. Besides, when the power fails I can light a candle and keep working.

]]> by: Bjorn http://blog.illustrationcastle.com/2007/05/23/digital-verses-traditional-illustration/#comment-34892 Sat, 26 May 2007 09:23:53 +0000 http://blog.illustrationcastle.com/2007/05/23/digital-verses-traditional-illustration/#comment-34892 Ah, so nice to see that there is discussion about this topic! I'm an illustrator who works in traditional media. I do use my Mac, a lot actually. But not in the creative process, only some colour correction and rethouching. The reason I'm not working digitally has everything to do with the fact that the appearance of the analoge manufactured piece is very important in the way I want my images to look. The painted image has a certain 'warmth' to it, and this atmosphere is a part of my work. Sure, there is a software app called Painter that mimicks the paint. It works quite well. I know illustrators who master this tool like no other. But Painter wil not make mistakes. Like you mentioned, there is alway the famous Apple-Z option. Every piece looks perfect in Painter. My images don't. There are bristles showing if you examine a piece closely and sometimes I repainted a piece but you still see a little bit of the mess showing through covered by the final layer of paint. This naïve authentic approach can't be done in Painter. And I need that look. The discussion of what is better, digital or analogue work is absolutely rediculous if you ask me. A computer is a tool. It can provide you with options which aren't available in any other medium. As a student you must (!!!) work in each and every medium you can get your hands on. Digital and analogue. You're developing a style, a handwriting in which you will compose your images. You are going to tell a story and the style you have developed are the words that carry the message. I think that the way these 'words' are shaped (technique) are only important to the illustrator. It's a creative voyage that lasts many years. Therefore I get angry when others say things like 'digital is better because it is faster' - or - 'analoge is better because it looks like real art'. Rubbish! Styles are not chosen, they are the result of many years of study and fine-tuning. There is no 'better'! Is digital illustration 'faster'? No it isn't! If I would use Painter to paint my images I would not be done any quicker as with my paintbrushes and paint. Why? Well, because doing corrections with real paint is not done as easy as with digital media, I really need to make good decissions upfront. If I mess up I know I loose time. Time I do not have. By painting in traditional media I force myself to make good decisions in the beginning. Digital media are very forgiving. You can go back as far as you want. Adding colour is done with just one click. Briliant! Huge advantage for digital media. But... this can be a disadvantage too. If I would use digital media I would spend to much time experimenting with different colours and hue's, just because I can with digital media. And I really doubt if my work would look better at the end because I did not really think things over. Well, this is just me. I would not do good when working with digital media. Others do. For them a computer is a blessing. If you always worked with cut paper, a tool like Adobe Illustrator would be a blessing to you. I could go on and on about this but i will stop now. Otherwise this post will be longer than the original posting. Ah, so nice to see that there is discussion about this topic!
I’m an illustrator who works in traditional media. I do use my Mac, a lot actually. But not in the creative process, only some colour correction and rethouching.
The reason I’m not working digitally has everything to do with the fact that the appearance of the analoge manufactured piece is very important in the way I want my images to look. The painted image has a certain ‘warmth’ to it, and this atmosphere is a part of my work. Sure, there is a software app called Painter that mimicks the paint. It works quite well. I know illustrators who master this tool like no other. But Painter wil not make mistakes. Like you mentioned, there is alway the famous Apple-Z option. Every piece looks perfect in Painter.
My images don’t. There are bristles showing if you examine a piece closely and sometimes I repainted a piece but you still see a little bit of the mess showing through covered by the final layer of paint. This naïve authentic approach can’t be done in Painter. And I need that look.

The discussion of what is better, digital or analogue work is absolutely rediculous if you ask me. A computer is a tool. It can provide you with options which aren’t available in any other medium. As a student you must (!!!) work in each and every medium you can get your hands on. Digital and analogue. You’re developing a style, a handwriting in which you will compose your images. You are going to tell a story and the style you have developed are the words that carry the message. I think that the way these ‘words’ are shaped (technique) are only important to the illustrator. It’s a creative voyage that lasts many years. Therefore I get angry when others say things like ‘digital is better because it is faster’ - or - ‘analoge is better because it looks like real art’. Rubbish! Styles are not chosen, they are the result of many years of study and fine-tuning. There is no ‘better’!

Is digital illustration ‘faster’? No it isn’t! If I would use Painter to paint my images I would not be done any quicker as with my paintbrushes and paint. Why? Well, because doing corrections with real paint is not done as easy as with digital media, I really need to make good decissions upfront. If I mess up I know I loose time. Time I do not have. By painting in traditional media I force myself to make good decisions in the beginning. Digital media are very forgiving. You can go back as far as you want. Adding colour is done with just one click. Briliant! Huge advantage for digital media. But… this can be a disadvantage too. If I would use digital media I would spend to much time experimenting with different colours and hue’s, just because I can with digital media. And I really doubt if my work would look better at the end because I did not really think things over.
Well, this is just me. I would not do good when working with digital media. Others do. For them a computer is a blessing. If you always worked with cut paper, a tool like Adobe Illustrator would be a blessing to you.

I could go on and on about this but i will stop now. Otherwise this post will be longer than the original posting.

]]> by: blog.illustrationcastle.com » Digital Verses Traditional Illustration : Part 2 http://blog.illustrationcastle.com/2007/05/23/digital-verses-traditional-illustration/#comment-34072 Thu, 24 May 2007 01:10:33 +0000 http://blog.illustrationcastle.com/2007/05/23/digital-verses-traditional-illustration/#comment-34072 <strong>Heather here : Thanks for your comment! I posted a reply <a href="http://blog.illustrationcastle.com/2007/05/24/digital-verses-traditional-illustration-part-2/" rel="nofollow">here</a>.</strong> Heather here : Thanks for your comment! I posted a reply here.

]]> by: digital portrait artists http://blog.illustrationcastle.com/2007/05/23/digital-verses-traditional-illustration/#comment-33885 Wed, 23 May 2007 10:36:13 +0000 http://blog.illustrationcastle.com/2007/05/23/digital-verses-traditional-illustration/#comment-33885 This is the same dilemma that exists between traditional photography and digital photography, too. The digital side is already making a grand entrance in just about anything in the world. From photography to painting, the digital age continues to revolutionize everything. But if you were to be asked, which is more advantageous to go digital or to stick with the traditional? This is the same dilemma that exists between traditional photography and digital photography, too. The digital side is already making a grand entrance in just about anything in the world. From photography to painting, the digital age continues to revolutionize everything.

But if you were to be asked, which is more advantageous to go digital or to stick with the traditional?

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