Explanation of digital art
The popularity of digital art increases every year as the required technology becomes more and more available to everyone. Once the domain of graphic designers or artists like Andy Warhol it is now becoming a common way to create works of art. No other medium would allow you to erase 100 times without damaging your canvas in the least.
This article will explain the different styles of digital art and discuss each category in a little detail to help clear up some of the confusion. Anyone new to digital art will no doubt have come across terms like ‘vector’, ‘pixel’ or ‘mixed media’ art, but may not have been able to access a clear explanation. As is always the case with art, there is always some interpretation and the way I have chosen to categorize artistic styles may not be suitable for everyone.
Digital art can be divided into 5 main styles, Mixed Media, Vector, Fractal, Digital Painting, and Pixel:
Mixed media or integrated art
Since the advent of Photoshop in the 90s, mixed media or integrated art has spread to the masses. Mixed media is exactly what its name suggests; it is the fusion of many artistic styles such as painting, photography, drawing and digital. Using programs like Photoshop, artists can combine these art forms with often surprising results. A popular mixed media style is ‘pop art’, led by Andy Warhol’s portrait styles which consist of using a computer program to add bright colors to the image and often lining up multiple panels to form blocks of 4 or 9 images in different colors. . Mixed media is often seen in digital abstract art.
Vector art
One of the more popular digital art techniques, a better term for it might be “vector-based art”, that is, art created with a vector-based program like Illustrator or Freehand or Corel Draw. The artist uses vector drawing software and creates the image entirely in a virtual environment. The style makes use of shapes that are outlined and can be filled with various colors and patterns; this usually produces a more hard-edged or graphic appearance. Characteristic flat colors and clean lines are easy to spot and quick to grab attention, making them popular with advertisers looking to grab the public’s attention.
Fractal art
Fractal art has been around for a while, but it’s making a comeback lately. Examples of fractals can be found in the natural world, however, in terms of digital art, it is art created entirely using mathematical formulas; they are infinite in their ability to be seen in greater and greater detail. The more you look at it, the more detail there will be when you zoom in. Fractal art is generally created using fractal generation software, the program has three main phases: setting the appropriate fractal software parameters, running the possibly long calculation, and evaluating the product.
Digital paint
Digital painting is an art form in which traditional painting techniques such as watercolor, oil, impasto, etc. are applied using digital software. Digital painting is different from many other forms of digital art in that it is created without using a computer generated template or model. The artist uses painting techniques to create digital painting directly on the computer. The digital art software program uses traditional techniques such as brush strokes and color matching to mimic physical media. The styles available are becoming more and more diversified, but include pastels, watercolors, oils, charcoals, and acrylics, to name just a few.
Pixel art
Among all these groundbreaking digital pixel art forms, a resurgence of old-school pixel techniques proudly celebrates the humble beginnings of computer art. It’s a retro digital art style that is making a comeback. When viewed, most people immediately remember their old Commodore 64 or Atari graphics; in fact, these old computers and video games use pixel technology. Pixel art is drawn pixel by pixel in minute detail, usually using a very limited color palette and primitive computer graphics tools. One of the most popular programs is Microsoft Paint, this program has not been updated for years, however it is a perfectly suitable tool for creating pixel art.
