There are so many apps available online that have devalued a lot of the work that artists do, leading to an assumption that digital art is not real art.  That may be true for those 'artists' who market themselves as such and utilise these apps but the resultant image will be of poor quality and highly unsuitable for print, not least to say that there is little skill involved!

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For those passionate about art and the techniques available, it is a steep learning curve to translate traditional techniques into digital ones but the results can be astonishing.  Indeed many famous artists use digital processes to aid in their workflow, making otherwise impossible tasks, possible!  Grayson Perry is one such artist :

 

I'm heralded as this poster boy of hand-made crafts, because I make pots, and tapestries. But often I’ll just use Photoshop and a wacom pad to make my designs. I then send them off to be digitally woven on a giant computer controlled loom.”  

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The portraits I create are drawn by hand, layer by layer, often using very poor quality photographs. It's useful if I know the animal being drawn but inevitably this isn't the case and so I ask for some pointers in the form of personality traits, character etc.  This helps me to produce a realistic image and one that conveys personality and emotion.  My workflow may change depending on requirements but below are some of the tools utilised:

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• Photoshop 2022

• Procreate

• Xara Graphic Designer

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Hardware:

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• Dell IdeaCentre

• iPad Pro 12.9" with Apple Pencil

• Wacom 27" QHD

• Canon EOS M100

• Sony A7Rii

• Epson SC-P700 - Fine Art / Pigment Inks

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