computer v handmade

[missyem]

Would like a little insight to you lot if you dont mind

How many of you use traditional methods (e.g non digital) in your work today? And do you think there is much place for this anymore?

any comments would b very much appreciated

thanx

[Thomas51471]

There will always be a place in art for traditional methods. You MUST know how and be able to draw well. You MUST know the principles of good design and MUSt know how to mix color traditionally since all the digital stuff is based on the traditional methods.

Anyone can use the computer to do something artistically, but the "real" artists can use the computer to do art very well.

Oh yeah, I use traditional hand done stuff every day in my work. I sketch out by hand the thumbnails and then transfer that to the computer to finish the design.

[cjoe]

Hand made objects can be of exceptional quality, even when extremely fine tolerances are required, e.g. hand ground lenses. The problem with exclusively hand-made things is that they are impractical for any kind of mass consumerism, even on a small scale. Hand made things are only practical for production on a limited basis e.g. very specialist applications. In terms of graphic arts, the art of the hand-made is still more relevant than many other areas. This is because we can use computers to make good copies of hand-made designs. While this may seem pointless because a scanner will not reproduce tactile textures and nuances of design, it does provide a good comprimise, because it is still able to capture some of the essence of a hand-made piece. This is a good comprimise, because computers and digital printers allow us to mass produce good quality designs, but the design can be derived from something that is handmade, and has all the hallmarks of being so (an aim of modernist era designers, esp. bauhaus). I believe it is important to have training in manual design skills such as drawing because: a.) it provide good ground and understanding of form texture, shape etc. b) it gives a tangible connection to the formation of designs. This is especially important in typography, because the formation of characters is directly connected to the way you make marks on paper with an instrument in your hand. Type should nearly always be designed by hand.

Some would argue that a computer is just a tool, some would argue that a computer is just an environment that simulates tools.

Please forgive my rambling but i'm tired and don't have the energy to construct a well formed argument.

[Big-B]

Some of the best designs are still, to this day, sketched on a coffee napkin with a borrowed pencil.

[clairabelle]

well, since i am still at college, i am expected to use digital and hand made images. however i do prefer handmade as computers aren't really my strong point. my lecturers practically force us to use digital outcomes after the handmade outcomes as we are told that they both compliment eachother and that u hav a much better chance of getting the better jobs if u show abillities in both digial and handmade fields. but all in all handmade have a more personal and uncontrolled feel (in my opinion) claire xxx

[captain spanky]

yes hand made is much more fun.

[TheBluePanda]

You MUST know how and be able to draw well.

Not true. There are many types of designers, and not all of them require the ability to draw. I myself do commercial design and web design, and the fact that I can't draw on paper very well has not been a problem. Yeah, I can throw somethin together that looks half-decent (see my thread in the showcase), but I wouldnt dare compare myself to someone who is a dedicated illustrator.

[Drorain]

hand drawing isnt a must...its a must for people that want to double as illustrators or those who want to keep most of their stuff in-house. I will say that the hand drawn aspect of my training has been an excellent help though. Having gotten a Bachelor of Fine arts, the foundation classes were all about drawing. But this is important to me because I want to do illustration and animation as well as my graphic design.

Some people, who cant draw, do the best page layouts, they can still understand content design...which a lot of us fine artist designers may struggle with