Considering Digital Art

Though there is a lot of control doing digital art, there are a couple of considerations. For instance, a file that I’ve spent 20 hours on could become corrupt—the digital information go awry and the file possibly not even open up. I save and save often. I also back up while I work so that if something goes wrong, I may only have to go back in time a few steps rather than start over.

Another is a lack of original artwork. The art resides on a disc, which can be printed and re-printed. Lacking original artwork, I had to find a source to print out every piece and supply that to the publisher. You see, they usually send original artwork to the printer. After films and plates are made from that, the art is kept next to the press so they can compare what’s coming off the press with the original to be sure everything is right. I had to supply prints for them to do that with. I was basically saying,

“I approve this color, so match this.”

I had to do that because every output device will vary its color from every other.

But, maybe to solve the lack of original artwork problem, I could have one final set printed on great paper, then sign each piece and put them under glass. Then I can christen those pieces A/P (artist’s proof) and be able to point to those as the originals.

Thanks for reading.