blog posts

year Visual features

Apart from the traditional tools, the virtual drawing box contains tools that do not exist outside of the computer. The use of these tools distinguishes digital painting from non-digital. Standard features can be traced to the computer’s ability to connect geometric formulas to lines and shapes. While a human hand can’t create the same form or make a perfect circle or straight line, it is difficult for a computer to do anything.

Mixed vector-raster painting and new photography use it to some extent. Raster drawing, by definition, does not use any formula-based shapes. However, digital properties are sometimes present in software-specific brush tips and the typical smoothness of the physical display. Formula-based bodies are easy to spot, with an inhuman degree of perfectionmilarities to paper cuts or stencil art.

Special digital painting features include:

• Clear transitions between colored windows
• transparency
• symmetry
• Exact repetition
• Circles, squares, and other fantastic shapes
• Highlighting, shading, and other 3D illusions
• Completely smooth slope
• 100% monochrome color pages
• No brush strokes
• Slalom or flip forms
• Automatic transformation effects (mirror, wave, rotate, cut, multiply, etc.)

The flatness of physical representation is typical for digital media.

Vector painting
Van de Ven: Wishful Weightwatcher (2015)

Differences in the method of digital painting
spontaneity

In most applications, it is possible to undo all or many brushstrokes and other actions without any effect. A stroke of the brush no longer ruins a painting. The “undo” option and many button transformations allow digital painters to work faster, make mistakes freely, and take a more experimental and spontaneous approach. Creating “computer-generated” images is speedy, intuitive, and unexpected. It should be noted that vector painting involves manipulating shapes with a unique tool that is slower and more deliberate than stroke-by-stroke painting. However, once bodies are formed, they follow one-click operations such as recoloring, resizing, highlighting, mirroring, grouping, shading, etc., enabling unprecedented speed and spontaneity.

creative influence

While “art” is usually defined as “human” creative skill and imagination, assessing how much a painting result from human effort becomes increasingly difficult. The software can determine the effect the artist has on the final result, the painting medium used in the process, and the artist’s preferences. In traditional painting, this effect is naturally one hundred percent. This still applies to digital and vector illustration. For a computer, penetration is dictated by the software and may range from 0 to 100 percent. For new photography, the creative process is often a series of more or less complex automatic transformations that are selected on sight. In addition, photos can be used as the first layer and worked on with a painting medium. Artist influence is difficult to assess and may range from 0 to 100 percent.

Digital painting is:

• The creation process is when the artist uses raster or vector painting software on a blank canvas. Or it creates a photo image, transforming it from a recording image into a product of imagination.
• The creation process is when the artist originates the image and uses input parameters or a set of rules to determine the final result.
• A process of play in which the artist uses button transformations and plays with input parameters until the resulting image is to his liking.
• The selection process is when the artist performs a series of automatic push-button transformations and selects a generated image without changing it.

Print and display screen.

The shapes and forms typical for digital painting cannot be manually transferred to a physical medium. Digital features are lost. In its physical representation, digital artwork can be just a print or an image on a screen. If an artwork created on a computer is printed on canvas and painted with natural paint or gel brush, the result is a traditional, non-digital painting. Original work on the laptop still fits the definition of digital painting.

Main routes
Based on the difference in method and appearance, five main flow directions can be distinguished:

1. Computer or generator drawing
2. Checkered painting
3. Vector drawing
4. Combined coloring and vector-raster
5. New photography

Computer drawing

“Computer generated” does not necessarily mean a computer created the image. The somewhat confusing term “produced” refers only to the “hand” method of painting: the artist does not make the artwork by hand but instructs the computer how to do it, like a composer who creates music not by playing it on an instrument but by writing musical notes on a piece. This method harkens back to the early days of artificial intelligence when versions for all shapes and lines had to be manually described by a mathematical formula. Since the 1970s, the procedures and calculations needed to create an image have been taken care of “behind the scenes.” The artist’s influence on the final result varies from 0% to 100%.

Computer-generated art (design mode):
Karin Kuhlmann: In Between 11 (2008)

Fractals

The essence of “produced” art is the possibility of teaching a computer, in the language of formulas, to create lines, forms, and colors. Some of these formulas produce patterns that repeat ad infinitum. No matter how much you zoom in, you’ll see new pieces similarly. These self-replicating forms are called fractals: geometric shapes that can be divided into parts, each of which is a more miniature copy of the whole.

Mandelbrot collection

An infinite self-repeating pattern was first studied around 1918 by French mathematicians Pierre Fatou and Gaston Julia. Their pioneering work was forgotten until Benoit Mandelbrot mentioned them 60 years later in his work on fractal geometry. In honor of Mandelbrot’s work, others called the particular points defined by the Mandelbrot equation (similar to the Fatou-Julia equation) the “Mandelbrot set.” In the 1978, Robert Brooks, an American mathematician, programmed an illustration for the first time, thus introducing fractals in art.
The drawing software’s process of producing Mandelbrot images is predetermined based on the Mandelbrot equation. Custom choices are possible for colors but not for shapes. The photos are the result of the selection process.

Images created in the selection process by zooming in on the Mandelbrot set (ideas)

El systems

In 1968, the Hungarian theoretical biologist Aristide Lindenmayer developed geometric patterns to describe the growth process of plants. In painting software, this mathematical framework creates lines, shapes, and color designs. L-systems can also generate similar fractals, such as the Mandelbrot set. The method is computer-implemented, a manufacturing process. The artist can create the image, apply the rules and determine the final result.

Images created with L-systems software in the process of construction: “Paper Tree” (l.) “Migration” (r.) (2019)

Random rules

Uncertainty and chance are used to create changes in a subject. The artist makes an initial selection from a gallery of images and uses it to traverse a selection path of random button transformations for lines, shapes, colors, and other parameters. Finally, several parameters can be changed to adjust and personalize the image manually. This method varies from the selection process to the game or construction process.

Image created with random rules software in a game process: “Plasma” (2019)

Checkered painting

In raster painting, colors and lines are recorded pixel by pixel on the canvas. In the process and appearance, raster, “grid,” or “bitmap” painting is similar to a traditional painting with brushes and natural paint. The image is created as a stroke on the screen. All characteristics of the individual painter’s hand are preserved. The only digital feature is the flatness of the physical carrier.

Checkered painting: Lou Stepanos, Untitled (undated, c. 2012)

Enlargement problems are the main weakness.

Often, the length and width created are as small as a computer (mobile) screen, and its resolution reaches 72 dots per inch. If the image is to be transferred to a normal-sized physical carrier that can be hung on a wall, it must be enlarged considerably. This generally requires manual correction, a tedious and time-consuming process. Manual zooming is a severe obstacle for printing and selling checkerboards.
In recent versions of some raster painting programs, “scripting” allows the painter to spread brushstrokes onto a larger canvas on the desktop (see “Size, Resolution, Zoom”).

Bitmaps are usually saved as BMP, JPEG, PNG, GIF, or TIFF files.

Vector drawing

Along with composite and produced painting and the new photography, the vector is one of the four directions creating a new visual language that has emerged since painters used computers.
What differentiates vector from other forms of digital painting is that it uses the computer’s ability to capture shapes and lines in mathematical formulas. A French engineer, Pierre Bezier, was the first to construct visual representations using an existing mathematical framework. Around 1960, he designed new car models at Renault with soft “Bayesian curves.” Since then, vector programs have become popular in design and advertising. Digital painters are beginning to explore this medium.

Translating shapes and lines into formulas offers possibilities that cannot be achieved in any other way. Vector images are size independent. They can be enlarged without loss of resolution.

Vector drawings can be distinguished by a certain minimalism and precise definition of forms, reminiscent of screen printing and monochromatic collages. Colors are wholly monochromatic or full gradient two-tone. In the absence of the brush, other aspects that convey something of the mood or personality of the creator come to the fore, such as space, palette, concept, choice of subject, and composition. As this is not the case with all digital art, it should be noted that the artist has complete control over the creative process.

Vector drawings are usually saved as EPS, PDF, WMF, SVG, or VML files.

Composite and composite painting

Sometimes painting media are combined using different software for one painting or a program for the composite image. Vector Painting – Checkerboard combines a personal checkerboard brush style with formula-based vector lines and shapes. Additional software provides maximum contrast between sharp and soft, single and double vector colors and a broad checkerboard palette. Other popular combinations include hand vectors with computer and raster, vector drawing, and computer photography.

Some composite painting programs (such as ArtRage) use Bézier curves in the background to smooth the lines and curves of raster paintings without the artist’s intervention. The drawing method is spontaneous, stroke, and the storage format is raster. The smooth, non-checkered, non-vector appearance reflects the compositional basis.

Print and file protection, NFT, timestamp

It is a common misunderstanding that a print cannot be a unique work of art. It certainly can and often is. There are several ways to protect exclusivity and limited editions for image and digital files.

Precautions

Raster and mixed vector-raster drawings can be effectively protected by using low-resolution, small-size files for online display. More robust measures such as DRM are needed to protect the online reproduction and enlarging of vector graphics.

print protection (PAM)

PAM (Physical Asset Management) includes a manual signature and a unique mark establishing authorship. A GS1 or EAN code can be attached to the certificate and artwork. GS1 codes are issued in over 100 participating countries and can easily be generated online.

File Protection (DAM)

Protecting a print is necessary to protect its digital source code. DAM (Digital Asset Management) can create digital image authorship and prevent copying and use to produce unmarked or forged prints and certificates.

– Digimark

A unique symbol can be registered and embedded in the image code. Unlike a digital watermark placed on the image, which can be easily removed, a digital mark survives all kinds of manipulations and transformations and even copying by screenshots. Digimarks are optionally supplemented with a search service that crawls the Internet tracking and reporting versions.

– Reliable time stamp

It is possible to securely timestamp a digital document and track its initial creation and subsequent changes, making it unique. This process is based on the same hash codes used to create NFTs for artwork. Timestamps rely on a “trusted authority.” Compared to NFT, a reliable timestamp does not consume much energy.

– Unofficial timestamp

Many online activities and physical representations leave reliable traces supporting authorship claims. Images posted on blogs usually have a time stamp that can be changed by the owner and are, therefore, less valuable.

– NFTs

A non-fungible token (=non-fungible) is a code derived from a digital file that uniquely identifies it and links it to its creator. Using advanced encryption, NFTs provide buyers with a certificate of authenticity and establish ownership of that particular file in a decentralized manner that involves many computers on a network.

Disadvantages and risks of NFT

1. Global warming

Artists presenting their art on an NFT platform should know that proof-of-work (PoW)-based currencies and transactions are a serious environmental concern. Nature recently calculated that Bitcoin alone would be responsible for two degrees of global warming in the next 25 years. ETH, the main currency of the Ethereum network, belongs to the same category of consumers of the energy giant. The Ethereum network can be used with greener currencies based on a different protocol called “Proof of Stake” (Pos). However, that doesn’t stop collectors from withdrawing from energy-guzzling currencies on the platform. Fortunately, “green” platforms based on “proof of stake” are on the rise (see NFT Green Platforms).

2. Bubble and crash

Technical innovation is probably the main driver, but for NFT platforms, it’s a happy thing to have cryptocurrencies piled up in accounts while there’s nothing to buy. NFTs enjoy substantial potential demand. The way they are presented, with plenty of wallets and charts showing the rise and fall of prices, plays to the same appetite for speculation that seems to many to be the main appeal of cryptocurrencies. Artists and collectors must first purchase digital currency. To a large extent, art appears to be bought to sell it for a quick profit. The new market, so alien to the nature of art as an agent of permanence, may become a double form of speculation unique in economic history and perhaps not without macroeconomic risks.

3. Theft of property

In December 2021, New York’s Ross + Kramer gallery was robbed of $2.2 million worth of NFT on the OpenSea NFT platform. It seemed that the thief had sold many parts. With the help of shoppers, the damage appears to have been limited. But it drew attention to the fact that OpenSea did not confirm whether a vendor owned the NFT.

4. Theft of authorship

Many artists steal images of their art online, clipping them as unique digital assets and selling them on NFT platforms. DeviantArt, a large online community for digital artists, began monitoring NFT platforms for stealing their users’ work in the fall of 2021. As of January 2022, it sent 90,000 potential fraud alerts to thousands of users. The Guardian quoted the DA’s head of operations, Moti Levy, as saying that automated computer programs (bots) had invaded the site and were scraping entire galleries of artists’ work.

5. Copyright Theft

The number of illegal copies in the print market is likely to increase. There is still no public registry of copyrights in digital art. Even without copyright, the NFT owner owns the digital source code of the image, which makes exploitation technically simple and economically tempting.

6. Financial risks

Digital currency sellers and digital wallet providers are not banks. They are no more than a baker or a greengrocer under centralized supervision of their accounts. In March 2022, hackers gained access to the private keys to validate transactions on the Ronin platform and stole $625 million in cryptocurrency. In addition, there is a risk of extreme currency fluctuations.

How to choose an NFT platform

NFT platforms are mountains of every imaginable style, technique, direction, and format. In addition to art, even the most exclusive platforms offer an incredible cottage industry. Filtering and searching possibilities are limited, making it challenging for individual artists to make themselves visible.