I’m a huge fan of traditional everything. Painting on actual canvas or panel. Drawing on paper, not a digital tablet. Reading a paper book, not a digital tablet. Writing paper letters or notes, not emailing. To me, there is a charm and care to all of these things, especially the art and the notes, that you don’t get with digital.
That said, I believe artists need to know digital media, especially Photoshop. Of course, having worked in graphic design for a long time, I also recommend learning basic layout and InDesign: an app for designing flyers, documents, posters, anything to advertise your art, even calendars and books!
We think of most of our art as just that: the art. But how we brand ourselves is just as important. Having a ‘look’ when you promote your art helps people to remember you and makes you appear more professional…and successful!
But back to Photoshop. Being able to scan (or photograph; another great skill) your work, color-correct, adjust your edges, and more is just part of how things are now.
As of this post, Adobe lets you have a 7-day trial of Photoshop or any of its other applications, before you buy. The individual applications are reasonably priced, or you can get sets. Of course, you can write them off.
Learn on the Adobe site or check out LinkedIn Learning for great tutorials on using everything.
Aside from learning digital for your art, it’s a great skill to have, should you need to beef up your freelance!
