# Moving in to Digital



## CrystalRose38 (Oct 19, 2017)

Hello All,

I'm hoping you can help - I can't afford Copic Markers so I thought I would try colouring my art digitally. I've been advised to get a bamboo graphic tablet, but in truth, I don't know where to start.

Any advice would be very gratefully received.

Lots of love,

Crystal


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## Abdushakur (Jun 25, 2017)

CrystalRose38 said:


> Hello All,
> 
> I'm hoping you can help - I can't afford Copic Markers so I thought I would try colouring my art digitally. I've been advised to get a bamboo graphic tablet, but in truth, I don't know where to start.
> 
> ...


Not being able to keep up with the prices of Copic markers is actually a good thing, and purchasing any sort of digital medium for this sort of work is a waste of money.

I used to use colored sharpies with colored pencils and watercolors. But I eventually stopped using the sharpies. I suggest you move towards using color pencils and watercolors, either independently from one another or mixed together.

I do not suggest digital anything for the process of making traditional art. Perhaps after you finish the work you can use digital to correct lighting from photos or scan of the art.


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## CrystalRose38 (Oct 19, 2017)

Abdushakur said:


> Not being able to keep up with the prices of Copic markers is actually a good thing, and purchasing any sort of digital medium for this sort of work is a waste of money.
> 
> I used to use colored sharpies with colored pencils and watercolors. But I eventually stopped using the sharpies. I suggest you move towards using color pencils and watercolors, either independently from one another or mixed together.
> 
> I do not suggest digital anything for the process of making traditional art. Perhaps after you finish the work you can use digital to correct lighting from photos or scan of the art.


I want to understand why you think purchasing anything for this medium is a waste of money.

I don't want to move away from using a dip pen to do my inking but I do want to produce nicely finished coloured artwork. I have seen a lot of work with Copics but I can't replicate it using cheaper alternatives.


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## Abdushakur (Jun 25, 2017)

CrystalRose38 said:


> I want to understand why you think purchasing anything for this medium is a waste of money.
> 
> I don't want to move away from using a dip pen to do my inking but I do want to produce nicely finished coloured artwork. I have seen a lot of work with Copics but I can't replicate it using cheaper alternatives.


I was referring to the coloring, not inking (though, any move to "ink" or "color" art via digital mediums, in my opinion, lessens it's intrinsic and aesthetic qualities).

So, from this perspective, I believe that incorporating digital mediums into traditional work, and spending money to do so is a waste, but that is just me.

As for producing "nicely finished coloured artwork", then sticking to traditional methods of coloring will produce results far superior to anything digital can offer.

Water colors and colored pencils are not generally cheap in sense of quality (Winsor & Newton, Prisma and so on). The most important thing is quality, not price. Digital coloring looks cheap and artificial. It makes traditional work look as such.

The handmade approach, the skill that emanates from learning how to color traditionally will achieve that nice finish that digital will never capture.

Also, the proof is in the original work, not a combination of 1's and 0's to create an image.

One thing that I failed to mention was that the ultimate goal the art is trying to achieve should be taken into consideration:

What is the purpose and point of the artwork being produced? What, if any, was the intended message to be communicated? And so on, in this, it may be that digital mediums in the present day may achieve an effect that traditional mediums do not provide, that is, usually in regards to icons, logos and branding and other corporate related necessities in business, like advertisements and so on. In this sense, yes, art has evolved from traditional to digital for the sake of maintaining modernity and relevance in society.


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## CrystalRose38 (Oct 19, 2017)

Thank you for elaborating - its very much appreciated. You have been very helpful.

Does anyone else have a view?


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## dickhutchings (Oct 6, 2015)

I've been down a number of rabbit holes looking for the perfect medium for me. I'm just a beginner, 2 years maybe but I'm still trying different mediums. I enjoyed working digitally and to me it's just another art form you can take or leave. I left it because I missed the feeling of real brushes paints and canvas plus, my art always looked well, digital.

I learned a lot from it because I was able to finish my paintings quicker and do more of them. With acrylics and oils, I tend to spend a lot of time on each painting, thus the learning curve is longer for me but I like using real tools. As a woodworker, I even preferred hand planes over machines.


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