May 24, 20196 min read

Art Essay

Traditional Art And Digital Art – Can they be used together?

Do digital artists really need to know the basics? The digital world has been expanding at amazing rates for the past few decades, yet it’s hard to know whether the same fundamentals are being used as traditional art. In this essay, I will be looking at Peter Monamy’s ‘Ships in Distress in a Storm’ (Monamy, 1720-30). Peter Monamy lived by the sea, from a family of boatswains, so it makes sense that he was one of England’s best marine artists. I’ll be looking at some arguments about digital art versus traditional art; and at the work that goes into stop-motion and VFX, analysing how digital and traditional art can work together.

Traditional Art

(‘Ships in Distress in a Storm’, Peter Monamy, oil on canvas, 1720-1730)

The oil painting I chose honestly seemed chaotic and dull at first, but then I looked at it a little longer, and realised that the ocean was calm. Even though it’s a tragic painting, it seems to be balanced on all sides, and nothing is quite centred. I concluded that it was painted using the rule of thirds, so that eyes roam around the painting for longer to take it all in. The space in the painting is very empty, yet it feels full by the looming clouds and rushing ocean.

(The colour wheel of ‘Ships in Distress in a Storm’, done using Adobe Color (Adobe, 2018))

The colour scheme was hard to pinpoint, as there were different tones and tints in the ocean, it’s a body of water. It’s a cold analogous palette, which makes the whole composition seem bleak and dreary. The wood of the ships are warm colours, however, because of the darker shades of the ocean, these colours don’t affect the rest of the composition. It does, however, make the ships contrast with the ocean to emphasize them.

(Image showing the different points of perspective in the painting, done with Photoshop (Adobe Photoshop, 2018))

This painting has one-point perspective. You can tell by the horizon line, and how the clouds in the sky are curving downwards towards the edges. There are also two other perspectives; the two most visible ships create the illusion of no perspective, as the ocean is rough and never completely flat, but they both have vanishing points off the edges. Perhaps this was Monamy’s way of showing how erratic and confusing the sea can become.

The main source of light isn’t clear at first, but it is breaking through the grey clouds. It also helps draw attention to the closest ship, which is being pushed away by an illuminated wave. Since water reflects light easily, there are tints all over the surface to describe the shapes of the different waves and swells. The rapid blending of paint between the tints and contrasts make the composition livelier and vibrant.

The volume of the ocean is incredibly important to the painting. Because the perspective is hard to pin point, the way the ocean’s swelling is painted greatly enforces the idea that the image is not flat, and that the ocean’s waves are mapping the way into the distance. Because of the light, the waves come to life and seem solid.

The Fundamentals and differences

Fundamentals are important for many reasons.

One to learn is shading and shadows, or the fundamentals of light. Different shapes with different materials reflect light differently (e.g. A metallic glove will react to light differently than a leather glove). With programs such as Substance Painter (Substance Painter, 2018) offering these options as a simple button, it’s quicker than going through all the trouble of building up colours.

Figure drawing is another crucial part of art. Even landscape artists need to know the proportions of a human, as it gives a sense of scale. Proportions are also needed in perspective, a person in a room needs to fit into the environment by being the right size. Scaling, proportions and perspective can be difficult to grasp on a digital tablet because of the many different shortcuts to get it right. It is easier to do when you have room in front of you. However, on an immobile computer screen, this will most likely have to be done without a real-life reference.

Another thing digital artists do is rush into things without a proper plan in their heads. All artists do this, but it rarely works in their favour. As mentioned, proportions and perspective are important in preparing a composition with both traditional and digital art. If they are not used appropriately, a composition can look off, wonky or incorrectly scaled.

Digital artists are on the increase, because of the accessibility of tablets and technology. Simple drawing apps can be accessed for free, and other programs such as Photoshop (Adobe Photoshop, 2018) are paid for with monthly subscriptions. This means digital art is more usable on the go; you could have an app on your phone, instead of having to carry around a sketch pad and loads of art tools.

However, because it's so widespread it isn't respected as much as traditional art is. A reason for this could be because it can't be physically touched. Paintings are popular because they stand out in a gallery, or museum. This might be why digital art isn't as valued, because it isn't as accessible. Also it may be judged as ‘informal’, as fandoms create fan art in various styles and programs, as a form of flattery. Traditional artists do this as well, in the form of portraits, or landscapes of people or places they admired. This, however, doesn't fully explain why digital art is frowned upon, maybe because it's still new, and people prefer traditional art.

One big advantage of digital art is when it comes to 3D modelling. Modelling with clay takes much longer than using a 3D program such as Autodesk Maya (Alias Systems, 2018), where for example, it is easy to adjust a face with a few clicks. By pressing control + E you can extrude any amount of faces. In clay modelling, it takes a lot of work pinching out an area, and you are restricted by the amount needed, instead of being able to resize something by clicking and dragging. Timewise, Maya is better, however not perfect. Attaching two objects may be easier with physical clay.

VFX is a type of animation that creates illusions. Like in movies such as the 'Harry Potter' (Directed by D. Yates, C. Columbus, A. Cuaron and M. Newell, and owned by Warner Bros’ Studios) series, many VFX are used to create the magic they perform. VFX, or visual effects, are created by using live action footage, or using CGI to create realistic settings. This is a prime example of a use of digital art, and how it can be used in a practical manner.

A traditional form of animation is stop-motion, done by slowly moving or manipulating a model, and taking pictures at every stage. This animation takes a lot of hours. Before animating, models are needed, mostly made of clay as it can be mimicked or changed easily. Clay modelling is a skill in itself, as it requires a lot of patience and practice. It also has to be left to dry, or put in a kiln overnight, which can leave cracks, meaning you'd have to remodel. This is a tedious issue, and makes stop-motion a treasured art, maybe praised more than digital art because of the effort and work required compared to other animation styles.

Stop-motion and VFX are brought together in the movie 'Kubo and The Two strings' (Laika productions, Travis Knight, 2016).

(Characters from ‘Kubo and the Two Strings’)

In the movie, plasticine models are used in stop-motion, with hand stitched clothing, weighted by items like coins.

(‘Takiyasha the Witch and the Skeleton Spectre’ painted by Utagawa Kuniyoshi between 1798-1861)

The most interestingly made scene in the movie features a model of a giant skeleton, inspired by the painting above. It was modelled to almost 5 metres tall, to make it loom over the smaller characters, giving a sense of scale. Another important fundamental used in the movie is the volume of the characters and the settings. Because they are literally 3D models, they react to lighting accurately. The colours are also bright and similar to traditional Japanese paintings. The scene that combines the most VFX and stop-motion is the battle taking place in the middle of a stormy ocean. It is a common fact that gravity and stop-motion don't work together, so the teams made a contraption that would move certain vertices in a waving motion, and then draped a printed and decorated cloth over it. This gave the illusion of water before VFX teams even started working on it. In the production of the movie, the VFX teams worked closely to the art department and stage team, which gave them an idea of the bigger picture. They were also very involved early on, so that was definite advantage.

Linking back to Peter Monamy, he painted the ocean in his painting in a smooth yet firm manner. The teams working on 'Kubo and The Two Strings' also worked together to create an ocean. Both productions are impressive to behold.

In conclusion, digital art and traditional art can be used together without them overshadowing the other. Traditional art is still accepted more than digital art, yet digital art is more widespread. To answer the question from the introduction, I believe that both types of art can be used together, and should be more often.

Bibliography:

Adobe Color: https://color.adobe.com/create/color-wheel/

Autodesk Maya Official Site: https://www.autodesk.com/products/maya/overview

Biography of Peter Monamy: http://www.artnet.com/artists/peter-monamy/biography

Brief overview of Monamy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Monamy

‘Harry Potter’ VFX: https://www.inverse.com/article/24076-harry-potter-visual-effects-quidditch-dragons-fantastic-beasts

‘Imaginefx: Animation Artist’ (2017)

‘Kubo and the Two Strings’ characters: https://www.threadless.com/kubo/

Monamy’s paintings: https://www.pictorem.com/profile/Peter.Monamy

Ocean VFX for ‘Kubo and the Two Strings’: https://www.fxguide.com/featured/kubo-and-the-two-strings-water-effects/

Photoshop Official Site: https://www.photoshop.com/

‘Ships in Distress in a Storm’, oil on canvas, Peter Monamy, 1720-1730: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/monamy-ships-in-distress-in-a-storm-t00807