Technology also had its impact on the arts, and the rise of computers brought about the field of digital art. So what are the different types of digital art? There are different types of digital painting, different types of algorithmic art, etc. While no one knows for sure how many different types of digital art there are, we are going to look at the 13 most common ones in this post!
Digital art combines technology and human creativity to make new and amazing artwork. It developed with the rise of computer technology in the 1990s. Even though it is still a pretty young artistic genre, digital art has branched out into many different unique types and subgenres.
In this post, we are going to look at the different types of digital art that have come up in the course of the technological evolution.
While probably no one can tell you for sure how many types of digital art there are, we’ll cover the 13 most common styles, how they developed, and what programs digital artists use to create them!
Technology and art
It seems like more and more types of digital art are coming in as technology keeps making progress. Even though digital art is becoming increasingly popular, it is in no way going to replace traditional forms of art.
Despite the known differences between digital and traditional art, digital art rather opens new opportunities to be creative that both experienced traditional artists and art beginners can try out.
In recent years, the gap between traditional art and digital art has been bridged, and both are considered equally valuable forms of artistic expression.
→ Can Fine Art Be Digital? [Addressing The Digital Art Debate]
Just like traditional artists, digital artists need to know the basics of color theory, composition, and contrast. They need to practice as much to develop an as high skill level in their respective field of digital art.
The type of art you’ll be choosing largely depends on your personality. Some people are more analytical and left-brained, while others tend to possess more imagination and creativity that are rooted in the right brain.
Computer art, however, appears to be able to unite the technical and creative sides of both types of people.
What is a digital artist?
A digital artist is a creative who uses computer technology to create their artwork. That way, digital art differs from traditional art only in the tools used. The tools of the trade in digital art merely include digital art hardware and software.
Digital artists usually work with a drawing tablet that serves as the digital canvas they work on. There are drawing tablets with screen and without screen, but it’s largely a matter of preference which one you choose.
→ Wacom For Beginners: Which Wacom Tablet Is Best For Beginners?
The second thing you need is digital art software. Photoshop is probably the first thing that comes to mind, and it’s arguably the best all-round software for any sort of creative digital endeavor.
Many types of digital art careers do use Photoshop. So if you are planning to make digital art your profession, it’s definitely worth learning!
→ How To Teach Yourself Digital Art – 5 Tips For Beginners To Get Started
You can find a great selection of free Photoshop tutorials on this site to help you get started. If that sparked your interest, then you can start a FREE 7-Day Photoshop Trial here.
How many types of digital art are there?
This question is really hard to answer, as there are so many different styles and genres that digital artists work with. Plus, new types of digital art seem to be popping up as technology evolves.
In this post, we are going to cover the 13 most popular types of digital art that you’ve probably already heard of.
If you are just starting out and don’t know yet what style you want to get into, I suggest you try out as many of the different types as you can to see which you like best.
→ How To Develop A Unique Art Style [Ultimate Artist Guide]
You can use Photoshop to create all the different types of digital art. But there is also specific software available that focuses on a particular art style.
I will let you know the respective programs for each style. For beginners, there are also free digital art apps to start with. For more information, check out the FAQs on my digital art software section.
What are the different types of digital art?
So without further ado, let’s dive in and have a look at the most popular types of digital art that you shouldn’t miss out on!
13 Different types of digital art
every digital artist should know
Digital Art Type #1: 2D Digital Painting
Digital painting is probably the best-known type of digital art. There are actually two different types of digital painting: 2D and 3D digital painting, and later on, we are also going to take a look at dynamic painting.
2D digital painting emulates the traditional painting process as closely as possible with a stylus and tablet. However, the best digital paintings are really hard to distinguish from a hand-painted piece…
Digital painters select the type of brushes and paints they want to work with. This can be anything from oil, acrylic, watercolor paints, and so on. You can also select the type of canvas you want to work on in your digital art software. The canvas and brushes act like natural media in terms of texture, brush thickness and opacity.
The advantage of digital painting is that you can work with layers and easily undo any mistake you make.
» Digital painters use Adobe Photoshop, Corel Painter, and Clip Studio Paint. Free alternatives are Krita and Autodesk Sketchbook.
Digital Art Type #2: 3D Digital Painting / Sculpting
3D painting, the second of the two types of digital painting, is another popular technique. 3D paintings can look hyper-realistic, but some digital artists also create super-stylized characters.
3D digital painting involves painting, texturing, and shading 3D models. That’s why the result comes out so realistic.
The 3D models can be anything from persons, to clothing, to animals, and other objects. The 3D model can then be placed in a scene and further manipulated.
This style of digital art is frequently used in movies and animation.
» The leading software for 3D digital painting is Autodesk Maya. Other options are Blender, ZBrush, and Cinema 4D. Blender is available for free. Nevertheless, it’s powerful 3D sculpting software.
So if you want to get started with 3D digital painting, Blender is a great choice – not only because it’s free, but also because there are lots of free tutorials that you can find online!
Digital Art Type #3: Photo Bashing
Even if you haven’t heard the word ‘photo bashing’ yet, I’m sure you’ve already seen it! Photo bashing refers to photo manipulation and concept art.
That means the artist combines different images to create a new scene that looks original and realistic. The images that are combined can be anything from real-life photos, 2D and 3D elements, textures, etc. The artist may also paint some parts of the picture.
Photo bashing is my favorite type of digital art. I use it to manipulate my own digital photography, or create entirely new scenes from a multitude of different images. If you are interested in my creative process, you can check out my Making Ofs that show you step-by-step how I create my works.
‘Piercing II‘ from my Lip Service Collection is a combination of digital photography and photo manipulation.
‘Pastime‘ – one of my recent photo manipulations from my Surreal Stories Collection. A photo bashing of more than a dozen of different images.
The challenge in combining different images is to make them look like they belong to the same shot. That means the artist needs to skillfully manipulate perspective, color, and lighting.
Once you master the technique, you are able to create fantastic scenes that couldn’t exist in reality. For example, I for myself like to work with surrealism and pop surrealism.
→ What Is Digital Surrealism? [Surreal Digital Art Explained]
» I am using Photoshop for my creations, but you can also work with Affinity Photo, or Gimp, which is a free image editor.
Digital Art Type #4: Digital Photography
Digital photography was born with the invention of computers, when digital cameras were introduced. It revolutionized the way we capture the world around us and made taking photos so much easier!
Back in the day, cameras worked with rolls of film that you had to manually develop in a darkroom.
Digital cameras don’t use film. They produce ready-to-use images and videos that you can transfer to your computer at the click of a mouse.
But is digital photography a type of digital art? Yes, because digital cameras do not only allow you to zoom and focus, but also to apply filters to an image. That means half of the editing may be done with the camera, the other half in post-production with a software program.
» Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom make it easy to process digital photographs to enhance their natural features. You can also use Affinity Photo or Krita for post-processing your digital captures.
Learn how I created this surreal portrait in Photoshop and the 9 best techniques to create surreal photography.
Digital Art Type #5: Digital Collage
I’m sure you’ve already used some sort of physical collage in your day-to-day life. Collages are popular for vision boards, mood boards, and scrapbooking.
For such collages, you would put a number of pictures together to inspire you, motivate you, or create memories.
Digital collages may slightly differ from physical collages. Combining images digitally offers much more variety. You can use photographs, 2D and 3D elements, textures, painting, and many others to create a collage.
In that way, a digital collage is similar to photo bashing.
» The best programs to create digital collages are Adobe Photoshop, Affinity Photo, and Krita.
Digital Art Type #6: 2D Computer Graphics
Just like with digital painting, there are two types of computer graphics.
2D graphics include text, shapes, icons, logos, and more.
They can be rendered and animated. That’s why 2D graphics are popular in cartoons and animations. Still, they are one of the easiest types of digital art.
2D computer graphics are also used in clipart and advertisements.
As opposed to regular images, 2D graphics may also be saved as vectors instead of raster images. Vectors have the advantage that you can scale and resize them without any quality loss.
→ Best File Type To Save Digital Art
» Popular editing programs for 2D computer graphics are Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Affinity Designer, and Gimp.
Digital Art Type #7: 3D Computer Graphics
The other form of computer graphics is three-dimensional. That type of computer-generated imagery (CGI) is highly realistic. 3D graphics can be rendered, rotated, resized, and reshaped as desired.
As for digital art, 3D graphics are mainly used in movies and video games. But apart from that, they are also used in engineering and architecture.
CGI is a popular type of digital art that lets you create about any model or structure. There are entire website that focus on that type of art. Popular websites for computer-generated images include DeviantArt and ArtStation.
→ Best Sites to Upload Art – Artist Guide To Posting Art Online
» To create 3D graphics, the recommended programs are Autodesk Maya, ZBrush, Cinema 4D, and Blender.
Digital Art Type #8: Pixel Art
Pixel art is one of the first types of digital art that is used to create colorful artworks and 2D assets. But pixel art is not only digital. Traditional artists, like Salvador Dali, have also used it in their works.
Pixel art works with the tiniest pieces of art. It is best-known in the over-simplified, pixelated pieces, but it may also be very complex.
Early video games relied on pixel art because it was easy to render without using up too much memory.
Nowadays, pixel art is a very popular type of digital art that is for sale on a number of platforms. Etsy is one such platform where you can find a large selection of original pixel artwork.
» You can use almost any image editor to create pixel art. It’s possible with Photoshop, Affinity Photo, Krita, and Gimp. But there are also special online apps, such as PixilArt.
Digital Art Type #9: Vector Art
Vector art is based on computer algorithms. You can create shapes and images and resize them as many times as needed without losing quality.
Vectors can be easily edited and colored. That’s why many artists vectorize their line art before they color or shade it.
Vectors are often used in logo and graphic design for websites and print advertisements.
→ Best File Format For Printing Digital Art
» The preferred software for vector art includes Adobe Illustrator, Affinity Designer, Inkscape, and Gravit Designer.
Digital Art Type #10: Fractal Art
Fractal art is a form of algorithmic art. The computer calculates fractal objects and represents the calculation results as digital images, animations, and other media.
There is special fractal-generating software that executes the calculation based on the parameters the artist sets. Some artists further process the fractals in other graphic programs.
The first fractal image appeared on the cover of the Scientific American in 1985. One thing that the majority of fractal artworks have in common is the pattern that shows a balance between order and chaos.
» The best fractal art generators include JWildFire, XenoDream, Mandelbulb 3D, and Apophysis, with the two latter ones being available for free.
Digital Art Type #11: Algorithmic Art
An offshoot of fractal art is algorithmic art. As its name suggests, algorithmic art is created through an algorithm. That’s why the digital creators are also called algorists.
Even though algorithmic art is computer-generated, the artist still needs to come up with the algorithm. This input may be mathematical, computational, or generative.
The input may be a random number generator or an external body of data. Some artists also work with organic gestures, which are then modified by an algorithm.
Fractal art as such doesn’t require the involvement of a human. That’s why some people argue that algorithmic art is not true art.
» Algorists work with Autodesk Dreamcatcher, Processing, and openFrameworks.
Digital Art Type #12: Dynamic Painting
Dynamic painting – unlike its name may suggest – is a form of computer-generated art. With artificial intelligence and human data, the computer generates a digital painting that may not be distinguished from an organic piece.
Of course, that’s not always the case. But dynamic painting is undoubtedly the most modern type of digital art that is created by a computer, without the artist being directly involved.
That’s why dynamic painting is also one of the most controversial types of digital art.
Nevertheless, artificial intelligence still has a long way to go, and sometimes the artist needs to have a hand in refining the image.
» Dynamic Auto-Painter is program for Windows and Mac that allows you to paint in the style of the famous painters in history and to create a wide variety of types of artworks.
Digital Art Type #13: Mixed Media
Mixed media combines traditional and digital assets. There are not limits to what the artists may use. Typical traditional media include paper, cartoon, ceramics, pottery, class, and photographs.
Digital media can be anything from painting, 2D and 3D elements, vectors, clipart, digital photos, and so on.
The influence of movements like Cubism and Dada contributed to the mixed media’s growth in popularity throughout the 20th century.
The first modern mixed media artwork is Pablo Picasso’s 1912 collage Still Life with Chair Caning. It’s made up of paper, cloth, paint, and rope to create a pseudo-3D effect.
Since mixed media art is created of so many different media, the software you are using depends on the type of artwork you want to create. In some cases, a printed photo or 3D element may be enough.
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