computer generated vs. hand illustrated, etc.

okay, so since i've been here i've seen a
lot of negative comments towards designers
that use computers rather than hands on
methods of creating artwork. A look at
philarts webpage shows some pretty strong
comments against computer generated art.
anyhow, the question i'm posing is:
is it the art created or is it the tools
used to create the art that make a great
poster?
i've always thought it was the
latter, but after viewing some of the
comments here, I would like to see how
some of the diehard oldschoolers would
would respond to the question.


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: kraftie on 2002-05-03 10:01 ]</font>

wait-you think it's the TOOLS used that make a poster good? did i read that correctly? just checking, that's all.

Computer generated art is not necessarily bad just because it's computer generated - I think it's more that a lot of computer generated art and "found art" design stuff borrows so heavily from other artists instead of creating something original. When you're talking about design work that revolves around a previously existing piece of art, the poster relies on that art to be good. If the "found art" is bad, no amount of design acumen will change that. If you actually illustrated the poster, your talent decides how good the poster is, not your ability to appreciate and appropriate someone else's work. There are computer driven designs that are amazing examples of using a computer as more of a paintbrush than a copy machine, but they seem to be few and far between.

Quote:

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On 2002-05-03 10:12, rockologist wrote:
wait-you think it's the TOOLS used that make a poster good? did i read that correctly? just checking, that's all.

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no no, i think its the art...sorry for the confusion.

right, but a good illustration can be
computer generated, right?

i can see the arguement that anyone can
buy a computer, get a pirated copy of
photoshop, and go to town without any idea
of what good design is, producing very
poor art, but i think that in the right hands
any tool can be used to make good art.

now on found images vs. illustration, i feel
that found images can be worked and manipulated
to the point that it becomes a original
work. good design isnt just slapping an image
found from a book onto a page, it's the ability
to make that image your own, and have it work to
communicate the purpose of the piece.

At the end of the day,if the poster's good who gives a gerbil's butt how it was created?Computers have made it a lot easier for people who can't or prefer not to draw,to create good looking stuff with relative ease.There's no need for a vs,they appear here with some regularity which is kinda weird - surely a well drawn poster is better than a shoddy computer image and vice versa,its the artist's imagination and talent thats in question,not their methods.

I agree that design-oriented posters can be great, and yes, the image can be worked like clay to produce something unrecognizable but beautiful, but I also feel that part of what makes art good is the work that went into it. To me that's more than using a design formula, three pieces of magazine spot illustration and a freeware font.

i should also note that i feel that the
context in which found art is placed also
makes it original.

That's not to say, however, that a poster should not be appreciated solely because it's computer generated - the guy who did the Jello record player is a great example of what an artist can do with a computer. Please forgive me - does anyone remember what poster that was?

lemony,i agree with you that the amount of "effort" thats gone into a poster contributes to how good it is,that goes without saying;but on the other hand there are some posters that take little effort and still look great. The old punk fliers and posters we see on here regularly are more often than not,collaged images slapped in place with some bad handwriting but they still work cause its supposed to be like that,thats what the poster artist intended and thats what they came up with. The record player image probably didn't take a great deal of effort but its still good all the same.there are good artists and there are bad artists.its all swings and roundabouts at the end of the day,who knows what the future will bring. :wink: