Computer generated art is by no means new yet the digital art movement still managed to sneak up on us. It is difficult to pin point when digital fine art began because its very close relatives, graphic design, photography, animation and such, have existed for quite some time. Those disciplines have always been accepted as visual mediums but not always as fine art mediums.

Those disciplines and others like them have ensured that art and technology have retained a symbiotic relationship of some sort. Although that relationship has not always been recognized it can’t be denied. 

Software that is heavily used by designers and animators can also be used to render large, beautiful, high resolution 2 dimensional images. A lot of these programs can be seamless integrated with each other in way or another. It is full possible to use fractals in your photographic images, or to import a 2D illustration into 3D programs. A computer has become the ultimate mixed media art playground.

Once Giclee, a computer based print, became acceptable as a fine art print style, it was only a matter of time before digital art pushed its way into the “Fine Art” category.

Now digital cameras are sold in bigger numbers than film cameras and even scrap bookers are using image editing programs for their art. Artists like David Hockeney are selling work that is completely computer generated. Software that mimics the exact texture of traditional mediums and brush strokes can slip through the radar undetected. Works are being created that you may never know were created with a computer. The Digital Fine Art movement has arrived.

In its early stages it is still being learned what this limitless new medium can really do. Art collectors, gallery owners, and artists are beginning to take a serious look at what this art form has to offer. Although it will never replace traditional mediums, it is finally taking its deserved place as a respected fine art style. It is here to stay.

If you are having difficulties accepting digital art as an art form…or if you are having trouble convincing others that it is an art form…consider this:

Just like traditional art mediums- elements and principles of art still apply. Form, line, shape, color, texture, space, value, composition, emphasis, balance, variety, harmony, movement, rhythm, proportion, perspective and unity are still the foundation of this art form. The creative process and how each work is approached is the same. And for many digital artists each work begins with a drawing in a sketch book.

Science and technology are not that different from art. Leonardo Davinci, MC Escher, and Benoit Mandelbrot knew this. It is time for the rest of the world to catch up.

Technology has found its way into every form of creative expression. Why not art? Just like any living breathing species, art has experienced development in its forms and styles over time. From the Ice Age to the Age of Technology…art began with a 35,000 year old mammoth sculpture found in Germany and 16,000 year old Lascaux cave paintings.  Digital art is just another step in art’s evolutionary cycle, ready and waiting to be explored.