Experimenting

I'm a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to illustration.  I like to get my hands dirty. I like physically creating textures, layering paint, and making messes. I like the imperfections and happy accidents that I discover in the process. When digital illustration became more mainstream, I shied away from the idea partly because I didn't like the flat look of digital art, but mostly because I was technologically ignorant. This day and age, though, it's hard to tell digital art from traditional, and over the years I've become aware of the benefits of painting digitally as digital processes have slowly been seeping into my artwork. I mostly use Photoshop to touch up my illustrations and tweak colors, and just knowing I can "fix" something in Photoshop has eased my mind just a bit.

As my Photoshop skills are improving, I decided to experiment with an upcoming project. I am doing the whole project digitally. It's a big stretch for me because I'm still a dummy when it comes to computers, but I have my trusty friends Google and YouTube to guide me along the way. Here's a sneak peek:

I have to admit, I'm love, love, loving digital! I know I still have so, so much to learn, but I'm excited about the progress I've made in such a short amount of time, and am looking forward to learning more.

 I won't be giving up my traditional methods anytime soon, though. As much as I'm loving exploring this new [to me] medium, I miss getting my hands dirty.

xo 

nessa dee