Is Digital Painting Real Art? Thoughts From An Oil Painter.

Graphic title slide showing a hand holding a stylus and a painting in vibrant colors of a portrait of a woman. Text reads Is Digital Art Real Art?

Digital painting – is real art or not? I’ve struggled with this question ever since I picked up a tablet and started painting digitally. Through the years, I’ve created art by making real, tangible pieces with paint on canvas that I can hold in my hands. Real art could only be made with real art supplies – not pixels, right?

After having done both traditional and digital painting, I think the answer is that as far as talent and creating a work of art in today’s world, digital painting is “real” art. If you are only measuring digital art based on it taking on a form that is handcrafted with a variety of materials, then no, it doesn’t qualify as “real” art. But is that second sentence true or is it just a perception? To find out, I’ll explore the definition of fine art, the biases in art, art-shaming and

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Can I Make A Digital Painting Look Traditional On The iPad?

Ever since I picked up an iPad and started painting, my number one goal was to make my digital painting look like a traditional oil painting. I wasn’t convinced it was possible and, of course, I can still tell the difference. However, a lot of people that view my work can’t tell the difference between my digital and traditional paintings.

make digital traditional title

Yes, it is possible to make a digital painting look like a traditional oil painting. Use the same process that traditional painters and a program that gives a natural application of paint. This will give you a good result. Throughout the rest of this article, I will show you a practice painting I did using

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10 Tips For Painting A Dog Portrait Featuring A Japanese Chin

dog painting pin top 10

dog painting pin close up

dog painting pin 4 up

In today’s tutorial, I will go over 10 tips for painting a dog portrait. The images in this post came from screencasts of a painting I started on the iPad with ArtRage and then finished on the desktop with ArtRage 6. I use the same approach to digital painting as traditional painting, so whether you paint on a canvas or a tablet, the steps below will apply.

Title graphic 10 tips

If you’d like to watch the speed painting I created from the screencasts, click the

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6 Tips On How To Paint A Tomato

Have you ever wondered how to paint a tomato? Maybe not, but there is a lot you can learn by painting this simple, delicious subject. In this tutorial, you’ll learn 6 tips for painting this tomato’s portrait.

How to paint a tomato title card

If you are new to painting, it’s always good to start out with a simple subject. But as I show you how to paint a tomato, you may realize

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Painting On The iPad Using ArtRage – It’s Fine Art On-The-Go

Painting On The iPad Using ArtRage – It's Fine Art On-The-Go pin 1

Painting On The iPad Using ArtRage – It's Fine Art On-The-Go pin 2

So far this year, I’ve been painting on the iPad using ArtRage in between working on larger oil painting projects. I love the immediacy of digital painting and I can paint even when there is little to no good light to work with, which is a challenge when creating traditional paintings during the winter months or on dreary days.

Painting On The iPad Using ArtRage – It’s Fine Art On-The-Go

The Teacup Challenge

“Teatime” is a painting on the iPad I started over a month ago using ArtRage. It was a more complicated painting which took me longer than usual to complete. I painted it whenever I had

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Learning How To Do Fine Art Painting Using Procreate And ArtRage

I’m finally learning how to do fine art painting using Procreate and ArtRage with the iPad Pro. I resisted getting an iPad for SO LONG and was one of those traditional snobs who thought “digital art wasn’t real art”. BUT, the world is changing and my mind is changing regarding the subject. Bottom line, I’m coming to realize there is a definitely a place for digital art in today’s world.

painting using procreate and artrage

Painting Using Procreate And ArtRage – Is It  Cheating?

To me I thought it was too easy to cheat or difficult to do very “painterly” art digitally based on some of the work I’ve seen out there. However, there are a lot of ways to

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