The human need for art is one of the essential factors of human nature. At different times, there were different ways and approaches to creating new masterpieces, which subsequently influenced the development of this industry. The digital age offers new ways of expressing a person’s creativity. Let's look at one of those using digital art as an example.
CG - what is it?
Digital painting or CG painting (CG - computer graphics) is a form of modern art that is characterized by the fact that traditional drawing methods are applied in digital form. The progress of technologies for creating animated as well as graphic works has directly affected the rapid development of this branch of fine art. Nowadays, it is very popular due to its wide capabilities and accessibility.
What is a CG drawing?
The artist creates the picture directly on the computer. All programs designed for this activity include the necessary arsenal of tools. CG artists' brushes represent the traditional style of writing in oil, watercolors, ink, pencil, as well as airbrushing. There are also certain effects that are characteristic of various means and drawing styles in the traditional sense. In most programs of this type, artists can find or recreate the style of drawing they need due to combinations of form, texture, colors, shades, effects, and so on. This largely erases the border between the traditional and graphic areas of art.
How to become a CG artist
So, let's determine where we can begin our journey as a digital artist. Like any creator, a CG artist needs basic skills, including knowledge of academic drawing and the classic version of painting. Honed lines, a solid confident hand, a sense of color rendering and composition are the main companions of the artist. So, here we go deeper into the question of what is CG. To begin your journey in this area, get the right tools for creating work. You will need a digital tablet for drawing, a stylus (digital pencil) and a computer.
Your device must be powerful enough to withstand work with a digital studio, so think about adding a certain amount of RAM, if necessary. Next, install the program to work. Good options are Adobe Photoshop or Coral Painter. Watch some online video tutorials so you can understand how to work with studios. Perseverance, patience and practice - the key to creating your masterpieces.
Comparison of digital and traditional painting
The main difference between digital and traditional painting is the nonlinearity of the workflow. The artist has the ability to edit all layers of his drawing, regardless of each other. In addition, the ability to cancel and repeat strokes also frees the creator from the linearity of creating the composition. This is the determining factor in what CG is. But the disadvantage of digital painting is the lack of actual interaction of paint with the physical surface, which limits the degree of experimental approach to the use of paint to create a composition. In turn, the digital artist has at his disposal several tools inaccessible to the traditional. Some of them include a virtual palette consisting of millions of colors, a choice of almost any size of canvas or medium, as well as the ability to correct errors. A graphic tablet allows the artist to work with precise hand movements, simulating a real pen and surface for drawing. Drawing tablets can have various sensitivity functions, up to the fact that the device responds to the slightest touch. In general, both methods of creating paintings have their positive and negative sides, the essence is only in what the artist feels and how he wants to convey it.
History of CG devices
The very first device for working with digital drawing was Sketchpad, it was created in 1963 by Ivan Sutherland. Over time, Sketchpad led to the creation of the Rand Tablet to work on the GRAIL project in 1968, which ultimately was the moment the creation of the very first digital tablet. This device determined the course of development of digital art, as well as a modern understanding of what CG is.
All early tablets or digitizers, such as IDs, were commercially successful and were used in CAD (Computer Aided Design) programs. Modern tablets have various forms, structure and functionality, suitable for any type of artist. WACOM is a leader in tablet manufacturing, ranging in size from 4 "x 6" to 12 "x 19", and is less than an inch thick. Other brands of graphic tablets are Aiptek, Monoprice, Hanvon, Genius, Adesso, Trust, Manhattan, Vistablet, DigiPro, etc. All these graphic tablets also have basic mouse functions, they are compatible with almost all Windows and Macintosh software.