Digital vs Traditional Illustration - 4 Myths Busted

Nov 5

I’m primarily a digital illustrator these days, but that wasn’t always the case. While studying illustration at university, I didn’t own an iPad until partway through my fourth (and final!) year. I occasionally worked on the Wacom Cintiqs on campus, but mostly with traditional tools.

It’s fair to say my iPad changed everything because I could finally make the kind of art everywhere I went that suited the style idea I had in my head for comics. Still, I love using traditional tools, like markers, pencil crayons, watercolour and gouache, when I want to get messy.

But which is better, digital or traditional illustration? Which is better for students still learning? Which is better for practicing professionals?

Among my students, digital artists often decry the “shortcuts” of digital illustration for making them “lazy.” At the same time, traditional illustrators worry their style isn’t “polished” or “modern” enough to make a splash in a packed market.

I think that’s all nonsense.

Both digital and traditional illustration are beautiful, challenging and beneficial skills to study. I recommend pursuing both, but I truly believe one is not better than the other.

Let’s debunk a couple of misconceptions today on the blog.

Myth 1: Digital Shortcuts Make You Lazy

Double-tap to undo, layers that can be edited independently, colour-picking, and brush effects— I often hear illustrators worry that all these handy tools make us lazy artists.

Laziness in your art practice is not determined by your medium but by your attitude. Are you challenging yourself? Learning new skills? Constantly creating? Working on the edges of your comfort zone? Then you are not being lazy!

I challenge you to consider how digital tools can make you work harder. For example, composition is something I struggled with. With traditional art, by the time I finished a whole sketch, and definitely after I’d done the linework, I’d have to accept the composition as more or less set.

But with digital, my work on composition never needs to be done! If my composition is not working, I force myself to make adjustments until it is. The ability to manipulate layers independently, erase and redo linework, revisit the sketch at any stage, and crop or resize the overall work allows me to refine the composition continuously. I think more about it because it’s never “locked in” as it would be with traditional tools.

Myth 2: Digital Illustrators Don’t Need to Learn Basic Art Skills

I guarantee anyone who has tried a digital art program, like Procreate or Adobe Photoshop, knows this is false. Yet somehow, this myth persists!

Skills like life drawing, value, colour theory, composition, stylization, storytelling, etc., are as relevant and hard-won in digital art as traditional ones. There is no “make art good” button in digital programs.

This misconception might come from seeing how digital artists can manipulate their work with sliders, like contrast or levels, and filters. However, no number of filters will make a weak illustration strong. Playing with effects and finishing touches is just one more tool in the toolkit and should be an afterthought for a good digital illustrator, not what they rely on to make good art.

Myth 3: There’s No Room for Traditional Illustration in the Market

I often hear this concern in my Graphic Novel class, particularly. I can understand why. Most comics and graphic novels on the shelves today use digital art, at least in North America.

But “most” is not the same as “all”. And I don’t know of any publishers who say they won’t accept traditional materials in their submissions. I often give the example of artist Renee Nault, who illustrated the graphic novel adaptation of The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. Renee Nault illustrates her comics in luscious watercolour and inks, and I daresay that this unique look brought her this incredible opportunity. You might just stand out if you are the only watercolour artist in a sea of digital artists.

Myth 4: Sharing Traditional Art with the World is Too Hard

In our digital age, it’s easy to envy digital artists who can simply export their work and have it ready for sharing on social media, websites, prints and portfolios. Because of this, you might be deterred from starting in traditional illustration, wondering how you will ever get a snazzy portfolio to email to clients.

Fortunately, the same digital age that makes it easy to share digital art also makes it SO much easier to share traditional art! In the past, you may have needed a professional photographer (working with film!) or scanning service to get your artwork into the digital realm. Nowadays, most of us can take high-quality photos with our phones. Ring lights or other natural-looking, diffuse photographic lighting are cheap and prolific.

Scanner technology has advanced so much that a desktop scanner (maybe at your local library or art school) can capture beautiful resolution and detail. Editing tools, from simple (Instagram filters, anyone?) to complex (Adobe Photoshop is still the GOAT), can help you eliminate any flaws in the photo or scan and present your work as accurately as possible to the original.

What do you think? Are there other digital vs. traditional illustration myths that need to stop?

Well, digital or traditional, maybe you'd like to review my top ten skills EVERY illustrator should master