do people want traditional art anymore?

[ShioBear]

so im a traditional comic artist by trade, ive always drawn with my trust pencil and Fabercastel ink pens. i do some digital art here and there but my true love will always be in traditional.

im just wondering. do i have to do digital to get commission work nowadays? or is there a market for traditional art. ill leave some examples of my traditional art below, leme know what you think.

[Valery91Thunder]

Personally speaking, I've sold traditional pieces along with digital ones, especially packed in "series" (as in, more istances of a single situation/scene), but I think they're popular mostly because, compared to my digital stuff, they're a cheaper and quicker alternative. But that's me, others might have different prices and experiences with it especially depending on what traditional media they're using and how they're pricing their artwork.

With that said, in general when it comes to traditional media, we can all agree that it always looks better in real life: no matter how good a photograph or a scan can be, the joy of this kind of art is that you can actually touch it; so if you're opening commissions, consider to be available for shipping your original pieces to the customers.

If your art is going to be a digital exclusive or, in any case, uploaded on some online gallery, I advise to use the scanner instead of taking pictures with a camera (unless the piece is more than just a drawing, as in paperchilds or similar things, and can't be scanned). You are going to lose some quality that's for sure, but there are tons of options between scanner and drawing program setting that can help you improve the quality of your acquired image. A good scan would have nitid lines and clear colours, without making everything too flashy and ultra-saturated.

And finally, when it comes to offering one's own products to an audience, remember to be original and offer something that customers won't find anywhere: I see your drawings are very stylized and (correct me if I'm wrong!) reminescent of srteet art and underground productions. You could open commissions for stylized badges, logoes and stickers, those would be really cool with your style! Your first example has particularly caught my attention, because, if I'm seeing correctly, it's a sort of cut-out composition with the option to change character's face? I'm especially intrigued about that: it could be used to produce stop-motion animations, or interactive comics (think of having each drawing glued on a magnet that a customer can move around to create it's own story, like one of those fridge magnet poems, but with comics instead!).

[Ginpanther]

I've bought plenty of traditional art, from printed comics to paintings. I just got the most recent one delivered in the mail a week or two ago, actually. It was done on canvas. I went with traditional because I felt it let the artist do their best work... some folks shine more in one media than another, even if they work in both. It is a bit hard to find storage since hanging furry art on the walls of the house isn't exactly my style, so digital has more appeal in that regard.

But I have no idea if I am remotely representative of the masses. I think @Valery91Thunder had some pretty wise words above.

[Chrysocyon]

From what I can tell, a lot of folks prefer traditional stuff over digital.  There's just something special about that hand-made look.  And as Valery91Thunder mentioned, being able to send the original to a commissioner or auction later is a big plus.  I love doing drawings in pen and ink myself, but I usually stick with digital for colouring because it's easier and cheaper for me.

[Caledonian]

there is only ONE hand drawn version

[ShioBear]

10 hours ago, Valery91Thunder said:

I see your drawings are very stylized and (correct me if I'm wrong!) reminescent of srteet art and underground productions.

yes you are very correct there mate. im originally a street artist. i used to do allot more tagging when i was younger. and one of my tags was a cat similar to bub. thanks alot for the input everyone! i greatly appreciate  it. i think i will start commissions soon. and most likely i will be sending original copy's because i feel digital just isnt the same. you cant match the texture of a nice rough thick paper back and ink. especially when you want to mount it to a frame. ohh and yes the first picture is an animation set up. he has several heads and thought  bubbles with pictures to go along with inner dialogue. bub is a character in my comic Bub & Dug. i will be starting comic production in the new year so stay tuned yo.

Edited December 21, 2015 by ShioBear
left stuff out

[galaxy-meow]

Well, I'm definitely one of those people that prefer traditional to digital. I'm also a painter and have taken traditional commissions which I also mailed to the buyer. And I'm pretty sure I've sold more traditional art than digital, so there's definitely a market. And I do believe most badge commissions that people buy are traditional. So yeah, don't do digital unless you actually want to.

[Pignog]

Others have already weighed in but yeah, do what you prefer. I thought the general trend was towards digital art but I don't sell anything. I know I prefer traditional art to using my wacom for two reasons: My laptop and current living space is so bad that digital art is frustrating and pushing me out of it, and the hands-on process--especially the inking part--of traditional art is just so enjoyable that I'm pulled in that direction. There's something great about holding a tangible piece, so I think there will always be some market for it.

[PurryFurry]

It matters on what it is.  I just got a gig doing some interior mural painting and you can't do that digitally.  I think that's something to think about- there are some applications of traditional that you just can't do digitally.  If we are talking volume of commissions though, I've gotten waaay more digital requests.  The advantages I've seen for digital are that you can get quicker feedback from your clients early on so you can make changes before you get into the thick of detailing and coloring; that they can print the final on whatever they want if they so choose (mousepads, shirts, canvases, paper, or whatever); and that my materials are already paid for in full and I don't have to keep purchasing anything- so the client only pays for my time and not my materials.

 

That's just my opinion from personal experience.  Hope it helps.