Before
taking this class, digital art was not completely new to me. I had been
interested in it for a few years, and I had made a number of small works since
then. However, the class did further reinforce my interest in digital art. I
found it to be even more enjoyable when I had a specific assignment to
complete, rather than simply creating an idea that I had thought about. The
entire process of creating digital art felt more productive when given clear
goals and criteria for each piece.
Compared
to other forms of art, digital art allows more experimentation and variation
during the creation process. Most mediums, such as paint or pencil, are
difficult to change after the material has been applied. While not impossible
to alter, it is very time consuming to repaint or redraw something, which makes
it difficult to try multiple ideas before deciding on the final one. Digital
art, however, can easily be reverted back to a particular stage if you find certain
elements unappealing. Many programs used to create digital art contain features
that allow you to simply add or remove individual elements you’ve created or
altered, ranging from the “Undo” command to the “History” panel found in many
Adobe programs.
Of the
programs we used in class, my favorite was Illustrator. Before taking this
class, Illustrator was my most frequently used program, and I had been well
accustomed to its interface beforehand. I enjoyed using Illustrator for an
actual assignment, and doing so only made me appreciate it more. However, I did
learn many new things about other programs. Before this class, I generally didn’t
enjoy using Photoshop, but after using it for specific assignments and learning
more about it, I’ve become more accepting of it and I do enjoy using it now.
