[WillPalmer]

Hello to everyone. I'm new to the forum and this is my first post. Quickly, I'm a student entering my senior year attending SCP in Finland (SUOMI!!!) however I am originally from Atlanta, GA.. I've seen and heard that the forum members critique work here and I'd be interested in seeing what everyone has to say (since you're all English speaking). No sweet talk please, honesty serves us all much better in the long run. I know I'm not the best but I want get better.

These are two images that I spent roughly 2 weeks working on at the same time during after school hours. One was created in Photoshop with my Wacom and one was made with oil on canvas. My intent was to study and experience the differences between digital and traditional mediums. This is part of my perhaps pointless and never-ending quest to explore why digital art is not yet accepted as fine art. Also, the image was painted from a photograph in a publication called 'Nyt'. Regretfully, I don't have the source image with me right now.

Will
www.william-palmer.net

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Oil on Canvas
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Photoshop w/ Tablet
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[Cicinimo]

Hey man, both are pretty slick. I think your traditional piece doesn't have the visual impact on a computer monitor that the digitial piece does. That has to do mostly with contrast and color issues. On the other hand, your traditional piece seems to showcase your skillset better. I wouldnt say either is better, they just show different aspects of your technical skill.

Also, I wouldn't say digital art isnt accepted as fineart yet. Seems like its gaining recognition in alot of arenas. Then again, I have no clue.
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[Capt. Fred]

I prefer the oil on canvas one, but as they are - since both images are .jpgs - either could have been made on a computer. Ask someone else to copy the same reference digitally and traditionally and you will get different results each time.

I think digital isn't accepted as a fine artist's medium because it's simply too new. Everything new has to live through a certain amount before people accept it and accept that it's not a fad and that it it's not invalid. The same is true even of acrylic I hear, and computers are far more new and different, so it's gonna take a while..

nice paintings! I like the oil.

[Ragnarok]

I like them both. However, I prefer the oils one. Maybe it's because the palette is a tad warmer, the background has more color and texture and also the drawing is a bit different.
Anyway they're both good, and it's a good idea to do both digital and traditional paintings, that way you improve in different mediums.

About the digital art acceptance, I agree with Capt Fred, it's mostly a matter of time. Photograph wasn't considered art for several years, and now it is.
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[WillPalmer]

Good calls from all. Thanks for the replies.

I sent these off to Shane Caudle to ask for his opinion and he responded saying that he prefered the digital version or the oil. I was just happy that he actually replied. The sad truth about the oil painting is that I became extremely tired due to other things going on (a woman and work) and I allowed some things to slip - like, among other things, the hair.

I was shocked, though, when I looked at these two side by side and saw how terribly different they were. I paint in one room and work on my computer in another. Not as an excuse but perhaps for reasoning I should tell you that my monitor is an old 15'' Compaq with color calibration issues that apparently can't be fixed. Oh, well - such is life for the poor artist.

Thanks again,
Will
www.william-palmer.net

[Spooky]

I think the other thing to consider is seeing the Oil piece in person. The texture of the canvas, the highlights of the bumps of paint, the brushmarks. This would certainly add to it's charm that you don't see on a monitor.

Each method has advantages but they also are unique in their viewing requirements to fully realize the art.
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[eyewoo]

Agree with Spooky... On this particular medium display - i.e. my monitor - I prefer the digital image. It has more impact and expression than the oil, but if both were on flat serfaces - the oil on canvas and the digital printed well and large, then it might be a different conclusion... perhaps, but perhaps not...
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[Yarik]

Your image presents something different for all people. I for one like the digital picture. It gives it more realism. If you want, Photoshop has some textures that look like the sheet you paint on in real life. I do say that in the second image, the piece of hair seems a little off. I think you need to give it a little more depth, add some highlights...

[Kagri]

And I like the oil one better. It seems to have some... harmony, which the digital one misses. And it jsut catches the eye, while the digital one doesn't - you looked at it once and it doesn't give you a desire to look again, while the oil one makes you want to study it, look at all the details...

[Thanatos]

I'm not going to say which one I like better for many of the reasons listed above.

The biggest reason being is that when you took a picture of that oil painting it might not have been in the best lighting conditions... Like incandescant light (which is what I'm guessing you used, it's the standard kind of light used in homes) will make the painting's colors warmer. Most lights used in households don't have a high enough color rendering capacity that would be required to take an adequate shot of an oil painting. Also the type of film, etc. Assuming again that this is taken with a digital camera

I attended a short talk in my school about lighting and this was the primary matter that the speaker concerned himself with.

I personally think that digital art will have its place in fine art galleries some day. Just as long as they're side by side traditional paintings, not replacing them.

Oh and, they're both well done works of art.

[WillPalmer]