Art Unboxed Digital Progress

One technique, when you have a large project to complete, is to complete several small tasks in the beginning to gain momentum. The same is true in many art projects. Take for example, a city scene I recently completed, the same city scene is reflected in four stages.

There were many more stages, but it all started out with one dark color blocking out the city. Then I added detail a little at a time. As a result, the city was finished much quicker, and it needed less detail than I would have thought.

While I’m a fan of realism, and details in art, it’s also fun to see what you can paint with suggestion. In another recent space scene, rather than attempting to define every detail of the ship, I added as little as I could. Yet there was enough to recognize it, and for the viewer to add the missing detail in their mind.

Just as the digital paintings I’ve completed have progressed, lessons such as these have been vital in adding to my digital toolbox. There are so many talented artists, who paint in digital media, other media, or both. Rather than talk about the differences and similarities of digital and other media, I’d like to share something else.

That is the continuing progress of learning digital tools. I would encourage you not to get stagnant with one piece of software. Learning a new piece of software will not only provide a mental challenge, it will enhance your skills.

You will not only have the ability to work in more than one suite of tools, you’ll learn to do something you’ve done differently. This will help you to view it in a new light. It will teach you new processes, shortcuts for old ones, and remind you to reevaluate how you have been doing things. Experimenting in these ways will help to prevent framing ourselves and our art, into a non changing pattern.

If you’ve never used digital painting, it’s so easy to try. You don’t have to have a tablet, or new computer to do so. There are so many software suites, commercial and free, which will open up your art horizons. It’s amazing what you can learn, both new skills, and to realize what you’ve already learned, when you view art through a digital lens.