Digital VS Traditional Illustration

I've really been enjoying working with actually physical pencils again! Here's two of my recent illustrations created using a mixture of Prisma Color pencils and Derwent Fine Art pencils. 

Emma Carpenter Magpies.jpg
Emma Carpenter Coloured pencil butterflies.jpg

I seem to be gravitating towards blocks of colour. I think I just want to create artwork that looks like patchwork quilts or stain glass windows.

When I first sketched these illustrations out, I had intended on colouring them in on Photoshop. But sometimes it's quite therapeutic to draw in "real life". 

I wanted to share some of the pros and cons I have with digital vs traditional drawing.

Digital

Emma Carpenter Ladybird rgb.jpg
Emma Carpenter - Bumble Bee.jpg

Pros

  • Helps me with composition as I can move elements around. 
  • You can easily change the colour and fix things.
  • Can easily overlay white and light colours.
  • Can play around with different blending options. 
  • Can push my creativity, as I can experiment with different versions of the same illustration. 

Cons 

  • It can take me longer to finish as I keep undoing everything!
  • Sometimes I feel it has to be "perfect" if it's digital. 

 

Traditional

Emma Carpenter Magpies.jpg

Pros

  • You can draw anywhere!
  • Can feel more connected to something tangible.
  • You have to stand by your decisions, makes you more confident.

Cons

  • Sometimes you really need an undo button.

 

All in all I really enjoy working both traditionally and digitally, and I quite often combine them. Even if the finished illustration is traditional I may play around with composition in Photoshop first.

Do you have a preferred way of working? If so let me know!