drawanyway.com

Computers and the internet have changed every aspect of our lives. The art of illustration has been touched just as much as any other area.

I mentioned the other day about how I quite often make a line drawing, scan it into my computer, and colour it using Photoshop. It’s the quickest and easiest method I know, especially if you haven’t got all your materials laid out on a dedicated art area.

If you’ve got a graphics tablet, or you can draw confidently with a mouse, you don’t even need that first step on paper. You can open up Photoshop, or Paintshop for that matter, or any other image-editing software, and draw right onto a blank ‘canvas’.

I’m old enough to be well aware that things weren’t always as easy as this. I think it’s worth running through some of the changes computers have made to the arts, because they are quite astonishing.

For example, in the past, every change you made to a drawing had the potential to spoil it. You might be happy with the lines you sketched out, but added colours you were unhappy with. Yes, depending on the medium you might be able to salvage it, but if not, you’d have to start again from scratch.

This isn’t so any more. If you ’save as’ as you go along, you’ll always be able to go back to any point in your picture’s creation and start again.

This facility also enables us to create several versions of the same picture. You can choose where in the process they deviate, but you might, for example, be putting out the same picture in two quite different palettes or tones.

Then, if you make a mistake, it’s a simple matter of using the ‘undo’ button, or ‘painting’ over your error.

Finally, while with traditional methods you ended up with a physical object, of which there was only one copy, nowadays you might never even print out your work. It might be viewed only on a screen. If you put it on the internet or send it by email, it can exist in multiple instances very easily, and it can be seen immediately by any number of viewers.

This is all wonderful stuff, although probably rather disconcerting for the traditional artist who has to learn many new skills. I’d venture a guess that the truly digital generation of artists hasn’t yet come fully into being.

Let’s not forget that there are some downsides, or, at least, issues to think about.

Undoubtably, there is something in the physicality of art materials that can’t be replicated on a computer. Whether that matters or not is up for debate, but the wet splodge of paint on paper, the feel of the nib as it splays ink, the chalk dust on your hands - you won’t get any of these in Photoshop, no matter how faithfully the tools can replicate the end result of those media.

As I write this, I’m reminded of the debate back in the Eighties about whether synth music could ever replace real instruments.

The point is, there is some unpredictability in genuine art materials, and sometimes the unexpected results are the ones you like the most. Or you learn from them, and deliberately try to replicate them.

You might also argue that there is more worth in a painting you can actually hold or put up on your wall. Yes, you can print out a digital image, and you can do so on fancy papers with long-lasting inks - but think about it. Would you rather buy a digital print or an ‘original’ piece of artwork for your home?

Anyway, these are just some thoughts. Please add to the debate below. There’s lots more to say, I’m sure.

Meanwhile, your task. If you have the requisite software, have a go at drawing with your computer. If you don’t, check out this link that Natalie found the other day. Then come and post.

Here is a picture I drew a couple of years ago. I drew the lines in pencil (in Japan) and coloured it in on my computer (back in England). Click to see a bigger version.

There is a massive range of graphics tablets on Amazon.com and on Amazon.co.uk.

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I’m officially on holiday, with no internet access! But don’t worry, I’ve lined up posts for the week. I’m relying on you guys to post and to respond to one another while I’m away. Do comment on each other’s work - it’s nice to get feedback!