Digital art

Digital art is art created on a computer in digital form. Digital art can be purely computer-generated, such as fractals, or taken from another source, such as a scanned photograph, or an image drawn using vector graphics software using a mouse or graphics tablet. The term is usually reserved for art that has been non-trivially modifed by a computing process (such as a computer program, microcontroller or any electronic system capable of interpreting an input to create an output); digitized text data and raw audio and video recordings are not usually considered digital art in themselves, but can be part of a larger project.

The availability and popularity of photograph manipulation software has spawned a vast and creative library of highly modified images, many bearing little or no hint of the original image. Using electronic versions of brushes, filters and enlargers, these "Neographers" produce images unattainable through conventional photographic tools. In addition, digital artists may manipulate scanned drawings, paintings, collages or lithographs, as well as using any of the above-mentioned techniques in combination. Artists also use many other sources of information and programs to create their work.

3D graphics are created via the process of designing complex imagery from geometric shapes, polygons or NURBS curves to create realistic 3 dimensional shapes, objects and scenes for use in various media such as film, television, print and special visual effects. There are many software programs for doing this.

The technology can enable collaboration, lending itself to sharing and augumenting by a creative effort similar to the open source movement, and the creative commons in which users can collaborate in a project to create unique pieces of art.

The mainstream media uses a lot of digital art in advertisements, and computers are used extensively in film to produce special effects. Desktop publishing has had a huge impact on the publishing world, although that is more related to graphic design.

Nonetheless, digital art is yet to gain the acceptance and regard reserved for "serious" artforms such as sculpture, painting and drawing, perhaps due to the erroneous impression of many that "the computer does it for you" and the suggestion that the image created could be infinitly repeatable.

Computers are also commonly used to make music, especially electronic music, since they present an easy and powerful way to arrange and create sound samples. It is possible that general acceptance of the value of digital art will progress in much the same way as the increased acceptance of electronically produced music over the last three decades.

Some say we are now in a postdigital era, where digital technologies are no longer a novelty in the art world, and "the medium is no longer the message." Digital tools have now become an integral part of the process of making art.

Digital Photography and digital printing is now an acceptable medium of creation and presentation by major museums and galleries, and the work of digital artists is gaining ground, through net art and software art. But the work of digital painters and printmakers is still not widely accepted by the established art community. It is not represented or collected by any major institution. Only the Victoria and Albert Museum print department has a reasonable but small collection of digital art. One reason why the established art community finds it difficult to accept digital art is the erroneous perception of digital prints being endlessly reproducible. Many artists though are errasing the relevant imagefile after the first print, thus making it an unique artwork. Another reason is longevity. With today's digital printing technology though, fading of colours will not occur for 60 to 100 years(www.wilhelm-research.com).

See also New media, New media art

Computer Generated
Artwork rendered from models created by the artist.
 * Computer-generated art

Illustration
Artwork created using, generally, vector-based tools.
 * Digital illustration

Photography/Cinematography Related
Artwork created through a camera which may then be manipulated.
 * Digital photography
 * Movie special effects
 * Digital imaging
 * Photo manipulations
 * Rephotography

Painting
Artwork created in similar fashion to non-digital paintings by means of software.
 * Digital painting

Game Related
Artwork that relates to computer games.
 * Video game design
 * Artistic computer game modification
 * Demoscene (A subculture that concentrates on making digital art.)
 * Computer art scene (Another subculture with many parallels and ties to the Demoscene.)
 * Pixel art
 * Machinima

Other
Aside from visual digital art, there are also other forms of digital art.
 * Software art
 * Electronic music
 * Code poetry

Museums & Non Commercial galleries
http://www.bbk.ac.uk/hosted/cache/ Cache] Not a museum as such, but an organisation which is researching the history of the British Computer Arts Society, and will soon have an online archive
 * Ars Electronica Center Museum for Digital Art and homeplace of the Prix Ars Electronica
 * Austin Museum of Digital Art
 * Digital Art Museum, An online archive of the Pioneers in history of Digital Art. With archives of artists work, biographies and writings. (There is also a phyisical space in Berlin).
 * DigitalArtMusem.com Has physical gallery space in Berlin, and the online version is aimed at hosting all the information on the pioneers of Digital Art.
 * HTTP Gallery House of Technologically Termed Praxis.
 * MOCA - Museum of Computer Art
 * MODA - Museum of Digital Art
 * UNESCO Digital Art Museum
 * DIAN - Digital Interactive Artist Network
 * FACT Foundation of Art & technology, Liverpool, UK
 * Banff New Media Institute Banff, Canada

Online galleries

 * computer fine arts netart collection and archive.
 * Digital Art Source Digital Art Source is a guide for students & professionals interested in art-related websites utilizing or exploring digital media & computers.
 * The Raster Group one of the world's best international Art groups
 * Digital Medium - Digital Art, Digital art galleries and useful info.
 * digital salon, Virtual gallery of fine art
 * deluxe gallery,site is a good reference to many new media exhibitions. Contact can also be made through the site to many digital artists.
 * furtherfield.org, Internet art
 * Free images, website content
 * IMCexpo, Online galleries for the Interactive Multimedia Culture Expo, an interactive new media art show and trade show
 * Oxygenetic, Another Digital Art Group that shut down on January 10th 2006. The site and it's ten high quality exhibitions still remain.

Communities

 * CGSociety, Society of Digital Artists.
 * thedigitalartist.com, Global art and design community
 * OminousArt, Digital/Traditional Art Community
 * deviantART, Where art meets application
 * GFXartist.com, The Digital Art Community
 * BlueSfear, Digital Art Community
 * DigitalArt.Org, Digital Art forum and gallery.
 * renderosity.com Renderosity Art Community
 * The LightWave Group, Community for 3D artists working with LightWave3D
 * rhizome.org, Internet art
 * depthCORE, Digital Art Group with over 100 talented members creating art for bi-monthly releases.
 * sonance.artistic.network the media & net artists network, vienna, austria

Festivals

 * Ars Electronica, Worlds longest festival of New Media and Digital Art.
 * Pilgrimage (USA), Computer graphics festival and demo party held annually in Salt Lake City, Utah
 * Radiator Nottinham, England
 * Transmediale Berlin, Germany
 * AV_06 AV_06, Gateshead, England
 * Documenta Kassel, Germany
 * SonicArts, Symposium 06 on The Anthology of Computer Art, Amsterdam, Holland
 * ISEA
 * SIGGRAPH
 * May You Live In Interesting Times Cardiff, UK
 * Banff New Media Institute Banff, Canada

Miscellaneous

 * newArteest, list of prominent digital artists