The face or art is ever changing. In this century, it takes the form of digital art. But what exactly is digital art and how did it develop? Read on to satisfy your curiosity.

Digital art defined

Digital art is made using a computer in digital (binary) form. In strict terms, 'digital art' only refers to art that has been 'non-trivially' modified using a computer. Text data, raw audio and video recordings are not considered digital art per se. Digital art can be purely computer-generated (like fractals) or derived from another source like scanned photographs, for example. A lot of digital artists rework scanned drawings, collages, paintings or lithographs, to create something totally different and new. Digital art can refer to images drawn by means of vector graphics software. The artist usually produces these images using a mouse or graphics tablet.

The definition of digital art started to expand and now includes all artwork that uses digital technology as either the product (actual work) or as the process (artworks made by use of digital means). Art experts consider artwork that uses digital technology as their subject as digital art, regardless of how the work was created. In this sense, an oil painting of a digital character like the Tomb Raider is considered digital art.

Power of digital art

Technology has made digital art very versatile. Digital manipulation software is widely available and is adding new features everyday. Artists use 'electronic forms' of traditional painting tools, such as brushes, filters and enlargers, creating images impossible to create through standard art tools.

Three-dimensional graphics can be easily created in a few clicks with the help of digital manipulation software. Digital media is relatively easy to use and gives instant results. This is why mainstream media use various digital art forms in their advertisements. Digital art has made its way into movies, as films are now edited digitally.

Still, it seems that digital art is not yet considered a "serious" form of art and hasn't quite achieved the status of more traditional artworks like sculptures and painting.