I realize going into this discussion that it will raise some eyebrows for some readers and may completely alienate others. That’s okay. Not all things in life have clear borders, and the matter of digital art programs is one of them.
But when a reader asked what I thought about digital art programs, I had to answer her. Especially since one reader with a question almost always means there are other readers with the same question.
The Question about Digital Art Programs
Basically, the reader wanted to know where she would cross the line between “real art” and computer generated art. Here’s what she said.
I upgraded my apple iPad and got an iPad Air. I also got an Apple Pencil Pro so that I could get the art program of Procreate to fool around with. It can do way more then I even imagined. I am not by any means giving up regular drawing and painting, I just thought maybe the program could help me get better line drawings from my photos. Anyway, I wanted to know what your thoughts were on digital art programs. I don’t want to cheat. I do want to still do real art. Can one use an art program and still be doing real art? When does a line get crossed from really doing your own art to having a program do it? Just wondered what you thought.
Digital Art Programs: My Thoughts
I don’t think there is a “line” to cross between digital art and art drawn by hand. If there is such a line, it’s most likely in a different place for each artist.
But there are a couple of simple guidelines that help me distinguish between digital art and non-digital art.
The Computer as Tool
If you’re drawing on the iPad with an Apple Pencil Pro, stylus or other tool, you’re still drawing. Even if you trace an image, you’re still moving the stylus to make the mark. That’s essentially the same as laying a sheet of tracing paper over a printed photo and making a tracing that way.
I drew this tree in my photo editor, using my mouse as a “pencil” and adjusting the line width in the program. I still drew the tree, but the medium was my photo editor and computer.
The drawing above was drawn freehand. I didn’t use a reference photo; I just started drawing.
But I have also used a photo editor to mark out the elements for a drawing, as shown below. The red lines are separate from the photo, so I can hide the photo and print just the line drawing if I want to.
I can also delete the line drawing and start over.
This is essentially the same thing I would do by making sketches on paper, but it’s faster and sometimes easier.
The first example is digital art, no question. The second example is not digital art. It’s just a line drawing. One, as it happens, that never went any further.
Letting The Computer do the Work
If you’re typing in a search phrase or series of key words, then letting software create the image, that’s something different. You’re clicking a button, and the computer is doing the work.
That’s what happens with a lot of digital art that’s generated by artificial intelligence. Key words are typed in, and the software combines the elements into something that hopefully resembles what the computer user had in mind. (That’s not always a given, by the way!)
My Opinion
I don’t look at any using a digital art program to create a line drawing as cheating anymore than I consider tracing cheating. They’re just different ways to accomplish similar results. (I say similar, because a digital line drawing and a hand-drawn line drawing are never the same.)
It all comes down to what you’re comfortable with. Let me give you an example.
I have done horse and dog portraits from line drawings I made by tracing on tracing paper. I’ve also done portraits from line drawings I made using the grid method. I’ve even tried making line drawings in a photo editor (they rarely are usable). All the portraits turned out well. The clients were happy.
But I get more satisfaction out of the process when I make the line drawing by hand. I think I have a better understanding of the subject by refining a line drawing multiple times. I also think the client ends up with a more “original” portrait.
Technically, all three methods work. But I’m definitely more comfortable with making line drawings by hand, and I’m also much more satisfied with the end result.
So, after all that, I have to give you the kind of answer I always hated getting when I asked questions like this: It’s really up to you!
Digital Art Programs: My Thoughts
Whether you agree with my thinking or not is not the important thing. It is not my intention to say that line drawings created with a digital art program aren’t real art. They are just as real as photography or colored pencil art.
What I want to do was to equip you to make this decision for yourself. After all, what really matters is where you draw the line for yourself.
Or if you draw a line at all.
