Digital Technology in Painting

Painting has been around for a while, since at least 35000 years ago. During that time, it changed a lot, as has the human race. From stones to iron and bronze, later on concrete and steel, to nanotechnology which powers our computers.

This evolving, digital world also left its trace on painting and in a very positive way, at least for the most of it.

Here is how technology influences painting.

Availability:

This is probably the most influential of the many changes that came from digitalization. A lot of people have some form or shape of a computer, whether it’s an actual desktop computer, a laptop or even a smartphone. All of these can enable an aspiring artist or painter to practice and nourish the motor skills necessary to handle a brush, especially when it comes to details.

This also allows the artist to be to choose from a plethora of colors, which would be otherwise very difficult to obtain, due to the very minute differences that computers can render.

Note that this availability can also have its drawbacks as the color accuracy is completely dependent on the screen quality. Many aspiring artists cannot simply purchase a 1000-dollar screen to have near perfect color accuracy.

Literature and Courses

In the days before the internet, it took either a school or a mentor for you to learn to be an artist. You could have tried to do it by yourself, but such examples are extremely rare. Now you can simply sign up for an online course, get literature wherever and whenever and even enjoy multiple online tutorials on how to use a variety of software beneficial and essential to painters.

A drawback of this line of thought is that so many tutorials and courses can overwhelm an artist with ideas and aspirations, so much that the very basics can be overlooked and forgotten, albeit this can transfer to any discipline, from music to athletics.

Competition:

Having competition is great and having access to their art is even better. You can find many great digital paintings as there are many sites devoted to art. Having someone to look up to or compete against is great motivation.

A digital world requires the artist to adapt, whether a painter or musician. Luckily, such a world encourages artists to get better and provides them with the tools to accomplish their dreams.