3 reasons to expand your work with digital art

This article was written by Michael Littig, Director of Creator Programming at HUG

Founded by Randi Zuckerberg and Debbie Soon, HUG is a social marketplace for artists to sell digital and physical goods, become creative entrepreneurs, and foster one-of-a-kind connections with collectors. 

HUG and MoonPay both share a mission and passion for democratizing access to art through technology and education. Part of this mission involves helping artists who want to continuously push the boundaries of creativity and innovation.

In this article, we share three reasons why traditional artists should consider expanding their work into the digital art world.

What is digital art?

Digital art is any artwork that draws upon digital technology, either through creation, distribution, or both. 

Digital technology can be a powerful tool for merging traditional artistic techniques with more modern methods. The result can be multifaceted work that reimagines the relationship between an artist and observer.

Artists like Krista Kim and ThankYouX, for example, believe that hybrid art (the merging of digital and physical art) will be a defining movement in years to come.

Now that we have a broad understanding of what digital art is, let’s look more closely at three reasons why artists should consider venturing into the digital art world. 

Digital art expands your creative practice

The integration of traditional and digital art forms in hybrid art opens up a world of boundless possibilities where artists can push their creative boundaries.

Here is an example to inspire you:

ThankYouX reimagined the use of blockchain technology for his collection STATE OF THE ART. The collection consists of four large-scale paintings broken up into 400 tiles each, creating 1600 total unique digital artworks that come paired with their physical counterpart.

By purchasing a digital collectible from the collection, participants received a singular digital tile corresponding with a section of one of the four paintings, which could then be used to claim the identical physical artwork. 

This was, of course, just one example of many on how digital art allows artists to bend the rules.

Digital art provides new opportunities to connect with others

Being at the vanguard of new artistic practices can give new artists a boost. Since digital art is still fairly new in the art world, artists can establish a name for themselves by being early adopters of emerging technologies.

Community significantly helps with this.

HUG is all about community. Artists of every stripe have created a HUG profile so they can access our educational resources and Open Calls. 

Alternatively, artists can get involved with communities around a specific artistic medium, like Audius for music or Obscura for photography.

Community will always be key to helping artists go further, stay inspired, and keep ahead of the curve.

Tokenized art provides proof of ownership and authenticity

Blockchain has been a life-changing innovation for many artists, allowing them to finally create digital art that can be authentically attributed to them. Before tokenizing his artwork, Beeple made next to nothing for his surreal animations. Now, he’s one of the highest earning artists of all time.

It’s now easier than ever for creators to mint their artwork on the blockchain. Several marketplaces and creator-friendly tools exist that don’t require any knowledge of coding. 

This is incredibly convenient for artists who want to market and sell their digital art but don’t have the time to learn any technical skills. To get started, we suggest artists explore Manifold or Heymint.

Closing thoughts

Digital art is a thrilling new frontier, offering artists limitless creative potential, community, and proof of ownership.

If you’re an artist, we suggest you get your feet wet as soon as you can. Don’t wait–start experimenting with digital art today and see where it leads you! 

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