Digital art is a general term for a range of artistic works and practices that use
digital technology as an essential part of the creative and/or presentation process. Since the 1970s, various names have been used to describe the process including
computer art and
multimedia art, and digital art is itself placed under the larger umbrella term
new media art.
The impact of digital technology has transformed activities such as
painting,
drawing and
sculpture, while new forms, such as
net art, digital
installation art, and
virtual reality, have become recognized artistic practices.More generally the term digital artist is used to describe an artist who makes use of
digital technologies in the production of art. In an expanded sense, "digital art" is a term applied to
contemporary art that uses the methods of mass production or digital media.
Digital production techniques is very interesting ~ Alexander Ruiz
The techniques of digital art are used extensively by the mainstream
media in advertisements, and by film-makers to produce
special effects.
Desktop publishing has had a huge impact on the publishing world, although that is more related to
graphic design. Both digital and traditional artists use many sources of electronic information and programs to create their work
. Given the parallels between visual and musical arts, it is possible that general acceptance of the value of digital art will progress in much the same way as the increased acceptance of electronically produced music over the last three decades.
Digital art can be purely computer-generated (such as
fractals and
algorithmic art) or taken from other sources, such as a
scanned photograph or an image drawn using
vector graphics software using a
mouse or
graphics tablet. Though technically the term may be applied to art done using other media or processes and merely scanned in, it is usually reserved for art that has been non-
trivially modified by a computing process (such as a
computer program,
microcontroller or any electronic system capable of interpreting an input to create an output); digitized text data and raw
audio and
video recordings are not usually considered digital art in themselves, but can be part of the larger project of
computer art and
information art Artworks are considered
digital painting when created in similar fashion to non-digital
paintings but using
software on a computer platform and digitally outputting the resulting image as painted on
canvas
Andy Warhol created digital art using a
Commodore Amiga where the computer was publicly introduced at the
Lincoln Center, New York in July 1985. An image of
Debbie Harry was captured in monochrome from a video camera and digitized into a graphics program called ProPaint. Warhol manipulated the image adding colour by using flood fills.
Computer-generated visual media
There are two main paradigms in computer generated imagery
! The simplest is
2D computer graphics which reflect how you might draw using a pencil and a piece of paper. In this case, however, the image is on the computer screen and the instrument you draw with might be a tablet stylus or a mouse. What is generated on your screen might appear to be drawn with a pencil, pen or paintbrush. The second kind is
3D computer graphics, where the screen becomes a window into a
virtual environment, where you arrange objects to be "photographed" by the computer. Typically a 2D computer graphics use
raster graphics as their primary means of source data representations, whereas 3D computer graphics use
vector graphics in the creation of
immersive virtual reality installations. A possible third paradigm is to generate art in 2D or 3D entirely through the execution of algorithms coded into computer programs and could be considered the native art form of the computer. That is, it cannot be produced without the computer.
Fractal art,
Datamoshing,
algorithmic art and
Dynamic Painting are examples.
Computer generated 3D still imagery
3D graphics are created via the process of designing
imagery from
geometric shapes,
polygons or
NURBS curves
to create three-dimensional objects and scenes for use in various media such as film,
television, print,
rapid prototyping, games/simulations and special visual effects.
There are many
software programs for doing this. The technology can enable
collaboration, lending itself to sharing and augmenting by a creative effort similar to the
open source movement, and the
creative commons in which users can collaborate in a project to create unique pieces of
art.
Having all of these skills will soon pay off~Alexander Ruiz
3. Often, a picture is a bit more exciting if someone is walking by, or if there is an object to grab the eye in front of the building. In the picture illustrating this step, the lamp-post adds a little something extra. If you're going for something in the foreground, make sure to use a smallish F-stop to keep the depth of field deep (F8 or above usually works fine from across the street). This way everything will be in focus.
