Digital art is a modern form of creating or practicing an artistic work using digital technology. It differs from traditional art in tools used to produce creative content. It can be categorized into three groups: computer-generated visual media, digital photography & darkroom, and digital installation art.
Here are some of the most popular forms of digital art:
Digital painting and drawing: it emulates traditional painting (oil, acrylic, and watercolor), and it is often used on digital devices such as iPads or a drawing tablet plugged into a computer. It uses computer software for painting, such as Adobe Photoshop or Krita.
Digital photography: it is similar to classic film photography, but since the technology in photography has developed, many photographers like to digitally enhance their photographs using software like LightRoom and Adobe Photoshop.
Digital collage: it is generated around the idea of scrapbooking and mood boards for combining images to create an entirely new image. You can use different art forms like 3D assets, photographs, and even traditional paintings and drawings. It is a fun and experimental form of art. The most popular software for creating digital collages are PicsArt and PhotoGrid.
3D modeling: it is used to make three-dimensional representations of different objects, characters, or environments. You can create different textures, sizes, and shapes. It is often used for various projects in game development, movies, architecture, 3D printing, animation, product design etc.
Vector art: It is similar to digital painting, with the main difference being its aesthetic appearance – it has a cleaner finish. It is often used when creating T-shirts, logos, and graphic elements. It is done with software such as Adobe Illustrator.
3D sculpting: it is designed to emulate a traditional form of sculpting where you get a digital piece of clay and mold it into a desired shape. It is similar to 3D modeling but takes less time to create and is generally more used to sculpt characters. The most commonly used programs are Zbrush and Blender.
Matte painting and photo manipulation: it often uses photography and 3D modeling to create photorealistic landscapes and environments. It is used in creating movies when creating a realistic background in scenes. The most commonly used software is Photoshop.
2D animation: it is a frame-based animation in which objects are drawn multiple times, and each time, it is a bit altered to create a visual of movement. The most commonly used software is Adobe Animate CC.
3D animation: similar to 2D animation, 3D animation uses different frames to create movement in 3D. It is mostly used in modern games, movies, and TV shows. Software used to create 3D animations are Maya, 3DS Max, and Blender.
Virtual Reality (VR): it gained immense popularity in the digital art industry. It enables you to walk through the artistic piece and view each brush stroke physically from any angle. It can create a more immersive experience for the audience. For this creative expression, artists use Tilt brush on any VR platform, such as PlayStation, Vive, Windows Mixed Reality, and Oculus.
If you’d like to learn more, here is some information about how to get started.
Overall, there are many different ways you can digitally express yourself artistically. The technology has developed exponentially in the last few years and will expand even further.
Author: Eva Povalej
Images: Leonardo AI
