In Defense of 3D and Digital Art 

  I have begun to notice a pointed discrimination of the digital medium and CAG or rendered artwork. As a trained artist in many different mediums, I would like to address the two most common misconceptions I have confronted:

• The computer does all the work and there is no skill involved.
• The use and availability of models encroaches on the “originality” factor.

The computer is nothing more than a medium or tool in the artist’s arsenal. It is no different than an artist’s brush, canvas stretcher, or chisel. Computers do not draw, people do. To assume that computer rendered artwork requires no skill is absurd. The very same artistic skills that apply to EVERY artistic medium also applies in the digital medium. Not only are the basics of composition, contrast, reflected light, and shading important for rendered artwork, but the artist must also have mastered a number of unique software programs.. To claim that the digital medium itself makes it too “easy” to be an artist is outright illogical. It is tantamount to demanding that all artists give up paper, pencils and pens and go back to chalk painting on cave walls. People must remember that the computer, as a medium, is just a tool in the artist’s arsenal. Great art is a product of great talent and creativity no matter the medium.

When it comes to the use and availability of models encroaching on the “originality” factor, this argument may be a more valid concern. However, this is precisely where digital artists distinguish themselves from mere computer programmers. A digital artist uses the 3-D models available as bases, similar to lumps of soft clay, that can be tweaked and molded, painted and changed, altering it to the point that each new use is a separate piece of art. Digital artists who do not take the time and effort to do this are cheating! 3-D modeling is much the same as sculpting, and the model itself is the original art of its creator. Re-sculpting the Venus de Milo or the Statue of Liberty is still copying, and would fall into a different category than true art. Painting these sculptures could still be considered original art. Assembling a good composition requires attention to balance, perspective, shadows, and the play of light. It requires attention to color and tangents, and the rule of thirds, and so many other things often inherent in an artist’s mind but not a programmer’s. The real test of this is shown in the finished piece. The final product is where the digital artists reveal themselves from amongst the computer programmers.

Yours in the love of art,

DeeDee