SO OKAY. AN ACTUAL SERIOUS POST FOR ONCE.

eggware friend raised an interesting point...that digital art loses a bit of the "unique" quality that defines something as "artistic" because anyone can learn how to create the same thing as long as one has the right software. having seen as much digital art as i have though, i can't say that i agree. i mean, i can totally see where he's coming from. hell, there are a million examples that prove his point floating around the web. half of my stuff is like that....reproducing "cool" or "trendy" effects and sticking those into an image that doesn't always have a point or meaning...not even a really good form or design. but there are those people who use what they have learned and create utterly stunning visuals. like lee hughey. i totally label him a master. or shinter. tech based emotion. daym.

however, definitely have to agree with mr. eggware guy that the proliferation of "ez one-click!" art programs these days is slowly killing creativity. because now any average schmoe can buy a program, click randomly, and say "look! it's art!". sorry. something is considered art only if the artist put part of himself into it...be it sense of style, experience, mood, whatever. dumping a mountain preset into an ocean plane in bryce is not art. it's called dumping shit wherever just cuz you can dump shit wherever. i'm not saying that you gotta spend years positioning the mountain just so or tweaking a material for hours on end in a scene for the final image to be called art. it doesn't matter how long you take, how you achieve the final effect, or how many fancy tricks you pulled in putting together the thing, as long as a person swigged a bit of soul into the project during creation, then it may be called art.

also, just because something is trendy doesn't mean it's bad. first of all, hello, trendy for a reason! cuz it's pretty and lots of people like it! you can't deny something's validity if so many people are in agreement. second, as in everything else in this world, there's doing something well and doing something badly. everyone can draw a dog....whether the dog actually moves you to go "aww" depends on the person's artsy fartsy skill. same can be applied to the use of micro-text, shards, crystals, grids, and whatever else is so hip and trendy in wallpaper art these days. putting something down just because it happens to contain grids is retarded. ever tried to look and see how that grid works with the rest of the image to make a point or create an eye-pleasing design? sheesh. so much to ask for.