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| Image by Daria Glakteeva on Upsplash |
The Features
There are many ways to create art digitally and not all can be comparable to pen on paper. For the best comparison, we will be looking specifically at drawing with Procreate using an iPad and stylus. Procreate is an app offered on Apple devices that features different functions to create art. One of the many options you can choose is how you prefer the stylus pressure control to look like on the screen of the iPad, by changing this in the settings portion of the Procreate app itself. Pen pressure works similarly digitally as it does traditionally, allowing the artist to change the thickness of lines by pressing harder or lighter.
However, unlike traditional, some digital brushes also allow pen pressure to change the opacity of the ink or color. Looking at some of the other features, you have one which is called “Color Drop” which lets you fill in areas of your drawing quickly and seamlessly with color. There are a few more simple features that can help artists in their journey to creating something, like how you can just “Undo” something with a double tap of your fingers and how you are able to zoom in and out using just two fingers, making it easier to do more detailed art. There are so many different features within Procreate to talk about that it can be a little bit overwhelming.
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| Image by Nik on Unsplash |
Traditional drawing does not directly have any features that come with it like a digital drawing app. When I think of features in traditional drawing it makes me think about the different types of mediums that you can use with traditional drawing. This of course can be replicated on a digital app like Procreate but does not have that same feel as the real thing. An artist may start out simple in the beginning of their drawing journey with just using a pencil and paper. As time goes on though they may want to experiment with different types of mediums that are out there, like charcoal drawings, where you lay down a dark layer of charcoal on paper before using an eraser to almost carve out the drawing that you want using lighting and shadow to your advantage. Another person might want to try painting with watercolors. Which is completely different than drawing with just a pencil and paper. Choosing different colors and the amount of water you use can really affect how the painting can turn out. Trying different mediums is just the beginning of what you can accomplish with your art. With time and practice people can create amazing pieces of art.
The Cost
Digital art can be great and apps like Procreate have many advantages to it but, of course there are some difficulties as well. One of the main issues is that initially digital art is a bit more expensive to get into. The iPad that I currently have (which to be honest is older) is a bit over $100, but newer iPads today can be around $450 to $700 depending on the features. You also need a stylus of some kind to use with the iPad that you just got. The one that I currently use is the Apple Pencil 1st Generation which is about $100. Newer ones though are more around the figure of $130. Including all of this you do need to buy Procreate so you can draw things digitally. The app itself is $12.99 which, is preferable when you look at other digital drawing apps that have monthly payments instead. All this cost might seem like a lot in the beginning, but if you continue to draw digitally, the initial cost might seem worth it.
In the beginning, it is easier to get into doing just traditional art and it’s not very expensive by using a pencil and paper. Though if you look at it over time, the money could start adding up. You may need a new sketch book at some point, or you might try to experiment with other mediums such as oil paints or high-quality colored pencils. All this over time could add up to a significant amount of money. This can go up into the hundreds or even thousands of dollars in art supplies, especially if you as an artist want the best kinds of mediums or tools out there. Granted you are not spending this all at one time, but if you are on a budget and thinking about getting into drawing traditionally, it might be good to keep this in mind.
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| Image by Zany Jadraque on Unsplash |
Organization
Organization is a big thing when it comes to being an artist. You want to be able to find art pieces that you did a year ago and show them off to a friend for example. Digital art can definitely shine in this particular category. One of the largest and useful features within Procreate is that you can organize your art with the filing system within the app. Saving your art to the cloud means you do not have to worry about losing all your work if something happens to your tablet. Procreate also time stamps your changes as you progressively start drawing to when you want to undo a mistake. The main problem with this feature is that it is saved to an electronic device and not saved anywhere else digitally or physically. Yes, it might make it easy to access but what happens when the iPad dies and needs to charge? Or even worse you get logged out and end up losing all your art because you can’t remember the login? It’s good to keep this in mind, the saving to the cloud feature is nice but can have some consequences if not properly looked after from time to time.
When looking at traditional art, it can be a bit harder to organize. Everything that you have when it comes to traditional art is on paper, canvas, or other physical types of mediums. You need to find space in your house to keep all your work, which is why a lot of artists who do traditional or more physical art tend to have an art studio. Not everyone though has the money or the space for a full-on art studio. This can be difficult for someone to organize their work. A filing system can be great, but over time this could get messy or confusing as you do more art pieces. Even storing all the different mediums, you use for drawing can be a hassle when it comes to organization. The thing that seems to work the most is to dedicate a small area (or even just a corner) of your room to only art stuff. For all your art pieces you’ve done in the past, the different tools/mediums you use, to just empty canvases or paper. Is this most ideal? Probably not, but if you are wanting to be more organized with your art, it is a nice stepping-stone to keeping your art pretty organized before moving on to a dedicated room.
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| Image by Pure Julia on Unsplash |
Portability
Being able to draw anywhere you want is great and another benefit to working with digital art is the portability that comes from just using an iPad and stylus. You have all the mediums you need within the Procreate app making it accessible anywhere, any time. So, this makes it very easy to go to a coffee shop (or anywhere) and draw anything you want. Other digital mediums like 3D modeling can be done on the go compared to the more traditional twin of clay modeling or sculpturing. Where you as the artist would need a lot more supplies and tools in which you could not bring to a coffee shop. Plus, with the organization feature that Procreate has makes it readily available to pick up where you left off on a drawing. Procreate has so much in just one app that it really gives an artist a lot of creative liberty to do what they wish, anywhere they want.
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| Image by Sorin Gheorghita on Unsplash |
With traditional art, one thing that could be tedious might be carrying around all your supplies. If you are wanting to sketch something outside, it might be hard to bring all the supplies with you. From a sketch book to different thickness of pencils, to erasers, to even colored pencils or markers if you are wanting to draw in color. Though sure, you can bring a small travel sized sketch book instead, and not bring as many pencils. But, at the same time as an artist, that could deprive you of being creative with your drawing. The best solution you could do, if you want to bring all your supplies with you, is to bring an extra bag carrying all the supplies. The main issue with this is that it might be clunky to bring another bag with you, especially for me since I already carry a purse with me. It might be better to just not travel with all the supplies and stick to being at home, but it is all up to the artist.
The Learning Curve
When it comes to drawing digitally, a big drawback people, especially beginners, find is that there is going to be a huge learning curve not just with Procreate, but with any digital drawing app. Like I explained above, there are many extensive features to be used in Procreate, and it can be overwhelming. If you are not used to using digital art, or just a beginner, it may take some time to really create something using the app to its fullest potential. Things like overlay methods and different tools can be pretty confusing to someone who is just starting out in digital drawing. There are videos on YouTube, of course, that can help with this learning curve and to assist in figuring out all the features. The problem is that this process might take a long time to do, years even. When it comes to art, you should never try to fast track it, but sometimes people get frustrated with not getting instant gratification. You as an artist should be aware that art is a process to take in, and not something you can learn overnight. Overall digital art is not necessarily harder, it’s just good to have a realistic outlook if you are thinking about trying it, as you may get overwhelmed, and some traditional skills may not transfer one to one.
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| Image by Setayesh Yousefnia |
In comparison, traditional art is a lot easier to get into at the start. With only needing a sketch book and pencil, you can start drawing right away. It is instinctive to draw traditionally as everyone does at the start of school in kindergarten. Granted, are you going to be amazing at art the very first time you start drawing the traditional way? Most likely no. For me it was just stick figures for a long time before I even experimented with different perspectives, lighting/shading, and 3D elements. Social media is a huge friend when it comes to finding inspiration and different tricks with how to draw body styles and faces. Unlike how digital art has the large learning curve at the beginning with trying to figure out the different features. Traditional art has it more down the line in your experience. If you are wanting to get better at drawing or experiment with different mediums, this might take a bit of time to get good at. It’s a different type of learning curve than digital art, but you still have it, just not to as much of an extreme.
The Effects on the Human Body
Digital art has its benefits but can also have detrimental effects on our body, particularly when it comes to our eyes. Blue light is the main wavelength of light used to illuminate any technological device that we use. This can be our cell phone, computer, and even iPads/tablets. This type of light can affect how we sleep and can even wreck our sleep schedules by suppressing melatonin production. For those particularly affected by blue light, it can be almost impossible to maintain a good sleep schedule if they work on digital art pieces at night. Alongside the effects of blue light, some artists get into the zone of drawing and just continue working hours on end throughout the night in which they did not mean to. Another thing that is concerning is that this blue light can strain our eyes if we stare at it for a long period of time. For someone like me who wears contacts, digital art can make my eyes extremely scratchy and dry, especially when it comes to the end of the day. So, when you are doing digital art, the best thing is to try and not stare at the iPad screen for hours on end. At the very least take small breaks where you look away from the screen or even walk away outside for a minute. For people who wear contacts, what I do is just wear my glasses instead, or use saline moisturizing eyedrops if I do not have my glasses with me.
Traditional drawing and sketching have been around for a long time. For me I’m someone who likes to sit down and draw something from just a sketch book and pencil. Drawing for some is a way to relax and unwind. Artists may want to forget about the stress in their daily lives and create something that is expressive of what they are feeling in the moment. Traditional drawing does not give as much damage to the eyes as when it comes to digital drawing. Although staring at anything for a long period of time can cause your eyes to strain, you should take a break and just look around at something else. Drawing in general is a nice escape or hobby for people to do after a hard day at work or school. It’s good to note that even though you may not strain your eyes as much when it comes to traditional drawing, it is also a nice way to unwind.
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| Image by Vitaly Gariev |
The Verdict
So, which is better? Digital art or Traditional art? Honestly neither! Or both! Really, it’s up to what you want to do. You may be interested in traditional art at first and then shift to digital art later in life. It’s your freedom to choose what medium you want to work with or what sort of service or app you find interesting to use. You may know my preference already from reading this review, but I’m just one opinion. Do the deep dive research on what others think about this topic or ask a friend that’s interested in art their opinion. It’s all up to you, I know this is not the most helpful in figuring out which art type is “better” but is there really a winner? Be you and choose whichever style makes you more inspired to create something good.
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