So What is Digital Art?
Digital art encompasses a wide variety of artworks that involve the use of digital technology in their creation or presentation process or both. The invention of computers, tablets, and other digital technologies have revolutionized the way art is made and exhibited. Instead of acrylic and canvas, digital artists paint on screens with pixels. Instead of paper and glue, collages are made from digital imagery and graphics. And rather than exhibiting in galleries, digital art is often showcased on the Internet, e.g. in the UNPAINTED artstore.
Certain digital artworks are created with the use of a computer and other types of digital technologies, while the presentation of the artwork remains analog. Digital prints and photographs, for instance, are made in the digital world, but when finished, they get transferred to a physical form — printed on paper, canvas or fabric, and can be transported and sold like any other artworks. Purely digital art can be easily transported on a USB stick or displayed on a mobile phone.
Other artworks, however, never leave the digital world. They are made on computers and presented on the screen. This particularly goes for NFTs, video artworks, and pixel art. Digital art also encompasses digital installations as seen on many festivals.
Since digital art can range from affordable art prints and GIFs to large-scale installations that require expensive equipment, starting a digital art collection is achievable at any budget. But before you begin investing in digital art, there are certain things you should keep in mind.
Why should you collect digital art?
As technology and virtual innovation take over our world, digital art is naturally the art of our evolving times. Digital art, photography, and video are now apart of almost every gallery and prevalent on all social media platforms. Digital art speaks to the new generation of artists and people, who are accustomed to a world where an affinity with the virtual is a basic necessity The art market has seen many digital works double or triple in value over the past several years. Digital art is the latest trend in the global art market, and an astute buyer should consider gaining a familiarity with this growing and exciting new artistic style. With the NFT technology arising in the art world, Digital Art has experienced a hype not seen before.
Digital art is documenting the reality of living in the contemporary, digital world. Today more than ever before we are accustomed to depositing our thoughts, feelings, projects, and ideas into the digital space. That’s why digital art is more than any other art form the art of today, and very likely the art of tomorrow. With almost unlimited possibilities and easy access, digital artworks are becoming increasingly desirable collectibles for art lovers worldwide.
Watch out for Authenticity and Scarcity
Digitally produced art can be reproduced in an unlimited number of copies without any damage or loss of quality. However, in order to make their works more exclusive, many artists are creating limited editions of digital artworks or even just one copy of an artwork. As with traditional prints, the size of the edition determines the price. The bigger the edition the lower the price and vice versa, so before you buy anything, make sure to check out how many different editions of the artwork there are on the market. Many artists use a number of APs (Artist’s Proof) for their own use, e.g. in exhibitions. This number normally should not exceed three.
Digital art can be easily counterfeited. Since digital art can be copied from the web, by using the exact same technology the artist used to create the artwork in the first place, these forgeries are exactly the same as the original artwork and impossible to tell apart. Digital drawings, paintings, and prints can be printed out on home printers, GIFs can be downloaded and multiplied to infinity.
That’s why when buying digital art, acquiring a certificate of authenticity is extremely important. Make sure to get the certificate directly from the artist or the gallery, proving that you are the true owner of the artwork. Without the certificate of authenticity, your digital artwork will be impossible to re-sell. UNPAINTED is commited to protecting collectors’ intellectual property and offers analogue as well as Blockchain-based certificates of art.
Getting to Know Digital Art Takes Time
Many digital artworks require time to understand an appreciate. GIFs, video works and many other types of digital art often require an extended attention from the viewer, who has to sit through an entire duration of the work. Though this can be inconvenient for a more impatient collector, watching a digital artwork several times before going through with the purchase is advisable, as this is the only way to determine how will you feel about it in the days to come – will you enjoy watching it over and over again, or will you get bored with it over time?
Delivering Digital Art
There is digitally crafted and physically presented art, both digitally produced and delivered, and conventionally produced yet digitally presented art. There are several different ways to deliver digital art to a buyer. Certain digital art pieces, like prints and photographs, get printed and shipped to the owner just like any other artwork. Purely Digital art, such as videos and animations, can be delivered physically on a USB, hard drive or a processor, that you can keep and store at your house, gallery or avault, or it can be downloaded. In the UNPAINTED artstore, we offer both physical and pureliy digital artworks. In the UNPAINTED App, artworks can be saved in a virtual vault and shared with friends on a mobile device. The latest development is to store artworks as Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) on the blockchain.
Consider Technical Requirements
Most digital artworks can be seen on a variety of screens – mobile, tablets, computers or TV. But some digital artworks can be a bit more demanding and require projectors or high resolutions screens that can cost a hefty amount.
That’s why it’s important to inquire about the technical equipment you’ll need to exhibit the artwork. In a world that’s increasingly embracing 8k resolution, a proper exhibiting equipment can mean the difference between enjoying every subtle detail of the piece and seeing nothing but a big blur.
At UNPAINTED, we focus on art that is easy to handle.
Updates and keeping up with technology
You should also make sure to enquire about the format of the work, especially if it is a video. Due to the constant growth of digital technology, it is better to purchase a work that would either not be modified with advanced equipment or can be migrated to higher and more sophisticated formats in the future. Doing some basic research beforehand is always a good idea.
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