Traditional vs Digital Art (why I switched)

Feb 11

When I first started drawing daily I was creating only traditional artwork with colour pencils and sometimes with watercolour paints as well, but now, several months later I almost exclusively draw digitally with Photoshop. So, I wanted to share my thoughts on why I switched to digital and why I think that both traditional and digital are wonderful to work with!

Why I switched to digital art

Girl illustration pencil and watercolour

I started drawing every weekday in May 2020 to improve my drawing skills and make time for my creativity, and while I had wanted to learn digital illustration for a while, it wasn’t really on my radar at the time. I already had pencils and a sketchbook, so that’s what I used for drawing.

I always enjoyed the natural feeling of pencil on paper and the flow of watercolour, but I found I was starting to want more control over my art, and wanted to achieve a level of contrast that I was struggling to achieve with the art supplies that I had.

*This is an image drawn with pencil and watercolour, with details then drawn in digitally.*

So I started taking the photographs of my drawings into Photoshop before posting to Instagram and using digital brushes to add details or enhance parts of my drawings. I used this mix of traditional and digital for a while until I just started going straight to Photoshop and doing my full illustrations there. I already had some basic digital drawing skills but it took me a little while to get my workflow right, so the beauty of doing small drawings everyday was that it didn’t matter if I messed up my layers or made mistakes - I could just do better the next day!

Now that I draw from scratch in Photoshop, I can let my ideas develop as I draw them because everything is so easy to change. If I think the colours don’t work together - no problem! If it needs more contrast - easy peasy!

I’m glad I switched over to digital art for what I’m doing right now, but I still love traditional art and there might be a time when I ditch the computer and favour pencil on paper again. The beauty is that artists don’t have to exclusively choose one or the other, and our current preferences don’t have to be forever!

What I love about traditional art

There’s something satisfying about putting a real pencil to real paper that I don’t quite get with digital art. It’s also nice to have my drawings in a sketchbook that I can pick up and flip through when I’m in a creative rut to boost my inspiration and confidence.

Traditional art is also unique because it can be unpredictable and hard to control the outcome of so it forces you to adapt and go with the flow, and I think that’s a really useful creative exercise. It’s always fun to let loose with some watercolours and just see what happens!

What I like to use traditional art for at the moment:

Creative exercises to be loose and less structured
Getting away from the screen
Just relaxing and drawing for the joy of it
Being messy

What I love about digital art

I am an indecisive person, so the thing that I really love about digital art is how easy it is to change details of my illustrations. I find it really useful to be able to adjust colours as I go and to be able to move elements that are off-balance because often I’m drawing things for the first time and haven’t done any colour tests beforehand.

It’s also handy to be able to easily adjust my artwork for other uses, like if I want to sell them on Redbubble or print them in different colour options.

What I like to use digital art for at the moment:

Creating clean art
Art that I want to adapt to different formats later
Trying new techniques
Playing with colour palettes as I go

There’s really no right or wrong medium to use when you’re creating art, and you certainly don’t have to exclusively stick to either traditional or digital art. The fundamental skills you use in traditional art apply just as well to digital art (and vice versa), it’s really just the tools you’re using. Use what feels right for you on the day!