| A better title for this article might be "What Is Digital Art and Design To You". One of the most challenging aspects of digital art and design software is the wide scope of talent, interests, and creativity of the digital artist. And the scope of the 2D and 3D software available to the digital artist is growing daily. In this article we will discuss the 2D digital art software. This digital art software can be loosely divided into three areas - print creativity, photo/image editing and natural media. But the line between these areas is somewhat vague. And, with each software upgrade this line becomes even more transparent, as the list of features offered by each type of software expands to include the most popular features of its competitors. Print Creativity Print creativity software such as PrintMasterR, American GreetingsR CreataCardR, and The Print ShopR all from BroderbundTM is one type of software that can have many business and personal applications. The main features of this type of software are the template and clip art galleries. The user can choose to personalize a pre-designed project template and use the accompanying clip art to create a variety of projects. For those who would like more freedom to customize, there are also blank project templates. The final project is usually displayed on a website or printed on an inkjet printer. Here are just a few of the projects included in this type of software.
Photo and Image Editing  The second type of 2D digital software is the photo and image editing software such as Corel/JascR Paint ShopR Pro and AdobeR PhotoshopR. Although pre-designed project templates has been an added feature for several upgrades, this type of software takes a different approach to creativity. Its main focus is on image creation and photo editing and manipulation. The artist can begin with pre-existing artwork or photos that can be imported into the program via a scanner, digital camera, etc. The image can then be manipulated using the painting, drawing and text tools. This software also comes with other great features such as layer support, special effect tools and filters. The user can also work with vector and raster tools to create original artwork and animations for use on the web, in multimedia applications or in print. The final image can be exported in a number of image formats. Some of the most popular are the GIF and JPG formats for use on the web and the bitmap format used in text documents. The artist can also use graphics tablets and work in several color models such as RGB and CMYK.Natural Media  The third type of 2D software for the digital artist is the natural media software such as PainterR from ProcreateR (a division of CorelR). Some might consider this type of software as a subsection of the photo and image editing software because of the similarities of their features and uses. However the most important difference, and what makes this software unique, is its ability to digitally simulate traditional painting media. The user can choose from a variety of medium and surfaces which then can be customized further. These programs can also simulate several artists' tools such as a paintbrush, pen, pencil and marker. As with the medium and surfaces, the artist can customize these tools further or create a unique custom brush. You can also use graphics tablets and work in several color models such as RGB and CMYK. | |||
