Traditional + Digital = TRADIGITAL

There is no question that some publishers frown upon what they call “digitized” artwork.   The truth is, digital painting is far from digitized.  To digitize an image refers more to taking a photo bringing it into a computer.  Sampling at various intervals occurs in the computer via scanning or direct input.  That word - digitized -  has all kinds of negative suggestion as it applys to art.  Far too easily it can be misinterpreted to mean all digital illustration is somehow computer generated and not a very different and original artform.

Digitizing is a far cry from “digital painting.”  The term digital painting simply refers  to the fact that the painting is taking place in the computer.  Digital painting has the ability to free the illustrator from having to redo an entire painting just to correct one color or element. Newer high end computer software can mimic the brush strokes for hundreds of brushes, pens, pencils, pastels and all forms of paint.

I will often sketch with pencil or pen because it gives me the freedom to do very large renderings.  Those can be reduced in the computer to the size needed by my editors.

This is a watercolor study for the digital painting below.   Usually I don't go this far, but I wanted to get a feel of the colors and technique I would use when I transferred to the computer for the final painting. As a study it was good, and I was able to incorporate it into the main painting. 

Digital painting is no less creative than traditional.  Colors, design, point of view and composition are all elements of digital painting.  When combined with traditional sketches and even watercolor washes or beginnings, the finished work can have a quality that is impossible to get in any other way.  The colors can be controlled and kept constant through pages and pages of illustrations.  You won’t run out of paint.
Paintings that you have completed traditionally can easily be scanned or photographed and incorporated into the digital work.

This is the final painting done with digital painting programs.  Here I have the freedom to paint in layers and not disturb elements under one another.  But it is still original artwork.


In some cases a digital illustration can take longer than a traditional one.  Both methods should be respected and when they are combined the same is true.


All kinds of traditional methods can be combined with digital painting:  cut paper, collage, clay sculpture, bas relief, even folded paper art can be incorporated.

I use the term TRADIGITAL  to describe my work; it is  basically another form of painting, one which conveys the essence of any story for which I am hired to illustrate.


I will say this, however. The use of too many of the tweaks that are available in the digital software programs can ruin the freshness and originality of the work. One has to be careful of not using too many  of the fancy plugins to enhance the work.  Good art is good art in whatever method the artist uses.

Evolution ....

An Invitation

This is an invitation to all those illustrators who wish to put in their thoughts, comments and two cents about Digital illustration and the pros and cons and in-betweens.

As a "Tradigital" illustrator I combine the traditional with the digital. Although I might begin an illustration with those marvelous traditional techniques and tools, I always finish my art in the digital form. The feel of pencil and paper, the ease of carrying a sketchbook to anyplace I want to wander and the possibilities that paint and ink and colored pencil bring to a work are all part of my process. I will always appreciate what the traditional media mean to me and others.

The digital world opened for me shortly after I discovered that I was able to draw with a mouse in a simple paint program.

After finding that Illustrator, and Photoshop did not do what I wanted I was introduced to Painter by a good friend and accomplished photographer. Painter allowed me to go as deep into the program as I wanted and left me always wanting to find out more. After 10 years of using Painter and teaching some workshops in the earliest of those years I am still finding new ways to make the program work for my chosen field.


Even with the freedom of change that a digital program offers, I still value the opportunity to use traditional media and combine the two. And even if I were totally committed to being only a traditional media artist, I have the good sense to know that at some point I would need to understand the technology of digital transfer, capture, and submission process for the publishing world.

So what about you? Are you digital, traditional, both? Do you have reasons for supporting one over the other?

Soft Sketches and Hard Lines

When I begin a project I like to sketch in pencil on rough drawing paper. I love the feel.

But, more than that, I like the freedom that it allows me. As a digital artist I appreciate the ability to change things quicker in the computer than I would be able to in paint or ink. But the sheer joy of being able to use the flat side of a pencil and feel and "hear" the skritchy sound it makes on the paper is something I love .I also have the room to spread the drawing out without the confines of a Cintiq, Wacom or computer screen. Using the whole arm helps me to define movement in characters. Some sketches with multiple characters can be up to 20 + inches wide.

Once I have the basic shapes and the movement satisfies the text I usually photograph with a digital camera and transfer to the computer. That is where I can tighten up the shapes and create the finished line drawings. With the ability to resize elements and move them around and layer them in any order, I have found the best working style for me personally.

At times I will go further with my hard lines, but most of the time I stop when I have something that is semi detailed and finish those details as I paint. Painting can change the initial drawing in subtle ways that bring the finished illustration closer to the image in my mind.

I usually choose to photograph my sketches rather than scan. Most of the time the sketches are really too big for my scanner and the photo allows me to get the whole of a picture in one shot.

It is not uncommon for me to pick up a pencil and sketch "something" every time I pass my drawing table with an idea that needs a visible presence.

I would be interested in knowing what brings you to the drawing table or computer or how you bring that wonderful idea from thought to sketch to finish. I am sure others would as well.

Scanning Artwork studies and sketches vs Digital photo

Water color Cat studies

I have this ongoing argument with myself. Will I scan my artwork? Will I photograph it?

Will I leave it as is, or transform it into a digital painting?

Most of the time I will scan a sketch if it isn't too big. I like seeing the texture that a scan can pick up. Occasionally a piece is way to large to scan and I will photograph it with and without flash to transfer it to the computer for finishing.

Here are three examples. I did some water color CAT studies, and then a "cat scan" and a photo with flash and with lamplight. While all three will have usefulness in future work, today I prefer the "cat Scan" for the color and texture. So that is one that I will keep handy for use in a current dummy I am working on.

Cat study photographed with flash

Cat study photographed with lamp light

And finally the

"Cat Scan" --- I just loved saying that *:)