Great question! I don’t think the answer to this is as simple as yes or no. However, for most us the answer is yes particularly if you are looking to have a career as an artist in today’s industry. Here is my thinking on this:

I know a handful of artists, ranging from screen printers to oil painters, who tend not to explore new mediums. Those who have skills in specific modes of production, or particular mediums, may tend toward “sticking to your lane”. It may sound silly to sit yourself in front of your computer screen and try to make art when you are already comfortable creating epic oil paintings on canvas.

However, if you want to work as an artist, and you are not yet doing so, digital art will be a great way of increasing your chances of finding work.

If you are already working as an artist, and currently making a living off of it, there is a good chance that you can improve your workflow and/or audience with digital tools. In the worst case, you may find new inspiration while growing your scholarly understanding of today’s art industry.

Below is a convincing, but not all encompassing, list of why any artist today should gather skills in Digital Art:

1. Digital Art is a large segment of the industry: More and more organizations and companies are utilizing digital art as their primary source of visual content. Adobe Creative Cloud is “industry standard”. Standard to the industry. As a working artists, this is your industry. Artists need to know industry standard tools. You must be knowledgeable of the artist tool belt, and what tools are carried in it. I am not advocating for a complete crossover, for you to abandon your oil painting practice. However, I am advocating at least for an open mind to experiencing new ways of making art. Furthermore, learn what you need to learn so you are capable to be of service as an artist!
2. Digital Art is another way to get the job done: You want to get hired as an artist. You want your art to be unique, sure. But you also want to sell your skills and/or your art. Because so many jobs require digital art skills, there is no sense in being unwilling to do digital work. Sure, stick with your medium, you know where your talents lie- do you! But learn to paint in Photoshop on the side. An hour a day, or an hour a week. You will only benefit from new understandings of your craft, and a drastic increase in your opportunities to work as an artist! Especially if you are already exceptional in the fundamental techniques of drawing, digital tools become just another way to express yourself. If you believe “I can’t do digital art…” I would consider rethinking that. You don’t have to be great, you just need to know it. Practice will be ongoing, but worth it. Keep it up, and soon you will have another tool at your disposal.
3. Practice is practice, no matter the medium: Quick sketches in your field notes, long form sketches of the back of that guy’s head in the coffee shop, hell even drawing with your coffee like its watercolor. All of it is practice. All of it develops your creative ‘muscles’. Continue to be open minded. Allow yourself to learn how to design a logo using simple shapes, or how to draw using the “Pen Tool”, it will benefit you in nuanced ways you never would have expected.
4. Stepping down from the Artist’s Pedestal: One book to read on this topic is a book by Bruno Munari called “Design as Art”. This book describes why “the artist must cast off the last rags of romanticism and become active as a man among men, well-up in present day techniques, materials and working methods”. He argues artists as a service man/woman, whose focus is aesthetics. He makes a point that designers are artists among men. This is a valuable perspective. Artists are not wizards; art is just another profession. Don’t forget, you do not have to create the next “Impression: Sunrise” to be an artist, you just have to create; you need to make. You need to work. Even if that means making a sign above a butcher’s shop.

I would love to hear more opinions on this topic. Agree or disagree, leave me a comment, contact me through email or socials.

In any case, thank you so much for reading!

Cheers,

Arjuna Noah Paul Leri