I always thought digital art needed to be super polished, but a talk at the Seattle art museum changed my mind.

I saw a digital piece there by an artist named Cora Lee, and it had these rough, sketchy lines and visible layers. She said in the notes she left them in on purpose to show the process. It made me realize a finished piece can show the work that went into it, not just hide it. Anyone else find they like seeing the 'seams' in digital work sometimes?

3 comments

3 Comments

skyler92119d ago

Isn't it funny how we're told to clean up all the rough edges? I see this everywhere now, like how people post pics of their half-done DIY projects or a messy kitchen while they're cooking. It's like we got tired of only seeing the perfect end result. Leaving the sketch layers in feels honest, like you're letting people in on the secret. That piece you saw sounds way more interesting with the process showing.

nguyen.tara19d ago

It's a rebellion against the algorithm.

riveradams9d ago

Used to hate seeing the rough edges in my own work, always tried to hide the mess. Then I saw a painter online who posted her whole process, the ugly first sketch and the paint drips and all. It completely flipped my view. Now a finished piece with no history just feels empty, like a lie. Showing the layers is what makes it real.