What Is Digital Art? A Guide to Digital Art and NFTs

Digital art is artwork created within digital technologies. It often involves interaction, participation, and generativity to reflect the impact of digital advancements. In recent years, digital art has expanded into the non-fungible token (NFT) art market, opening the door to new opportunities for digital artists. 

Discover what you need to get started in digital art and the NFT art marketplace. Plus, explore helpful links to digital art courses and certificate programs.

What is digital art?

Digital art is artwork created with software designed for use with a computer or other forms of digital technology. It can be drawings, paintings, videos, photography, or any other art form created electronically. Advertisers, video game developers, and filmmakers often use digital art in their crafts.

As an artist, you can use many mediums to create digital art, including digital photography, artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR), pixel art, data moshing, 2D and 3D computer graphics, and photo painting. You can create projects entirely digitally or upload conventional art or photography and manipulate it with a digital arts program. For example, uploading an existing photo to a program such as Adobe Illustrator and manipulating the color scheme is considered digital art. 

Tools for creating digital art

The tools needed to create digital art include a device to work on and primary hardware and software. The specifics will depend on the type of art you want to create and what you want to use it for. 

Primary hardware

Primary hardware may include high-performance computers, graphics tablets, digital cameras, and virtual reality/augmented reality devices. You’ll want an operating system with at least 8 GB of memory to support graphics software and prevent lags or freezing. A laptop or tablet should suffice if you’re comfortable creating with a smaller canvas. If you prefer working in a large area, you’ll want a PC or large-screen laptop. 

If you'd like to use a tablet only to create your artwork, Apple, XPPen, and Xenelabs make drawing tablets. Some of these devices, called “pen tablets,” allow you to draw using a pen that controls the on-screen cursor, whereas other products, called “display tablets,” allow you to draw directly on the screen without an external pen. Digital art can also be created on a smaller screen with a smartphone. 

Digital art apps

With the help of apps such as Procreate Pocket and Adobe Photoshop Express, you can easily create art and edit digital projects. When creating digital art on a smartphone, it is important to research whether your device supports stylus pen pressure sensitivity to create the most accurate lines.

Using software programs such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Fresco, and Adobe Illustrator can help you create impressive digital art projects. Applications such as Krita, FireAlpaca, and Clip Studio Paint are also helpful when creating digital art projects—particularly for 3D modeling.

When selecting a software application, consider the kinds of tools you may need and select your program based on the feature that would best assist you. Free trials and demos are great ways to experiment with software applications before committing to a subscription.

Skills you need to create digital art

Imagination, creativity, and attention to detail are essential elements for digital artists. Problem-solving and patience are also essential should you run into technical issues with your selected digital art software. 

Proficiency in technical skills, such as working with digital art software programs, can help you become a successful digital artist. Additional skills to develop include:

• Sketching: Sketching is the foundation for a digital art career. Regular sketching helps you develop skills, experiment with new techniques, and promote artistic growth and consistency.

• Character drawing: As a digital artist, you’ll need to draw characters in different poses and facial expressions. The eyes are important and should capture the character's emotion.

• Animation: Creating animated art is an essential skill as a digital artist, so you know how to make objects or characters appear to move. Adobe After Effects is a commonly used animation software, so it’s an important tool to master.

• Digital software programs: Digital artists use design software programs to create 2D and 3D digital art. Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and Photoshop are among the design software used by digital artists. 

• Composition: Composition refers to the specific arrangement of certain elements in digital art. Some examples of popular composition techniques are the rule of thirds, harmonious triangles, and a balance of positive and negative space. 

• Typography: Typography is the look and style of the text you add to your artwork. Typography allows the text on your design to be accessible, visually appealing, and user-friendly. Choosing the right font and arrangement of letters can help you achieve the tone and mood of a message. 

Digital art and NFTs

Non-fungible tokens, known as NFTs, have become a popular way to distribute digital artwork via buying and selling online. When you convert your digital art to an NFT, it exists on a blockchain for purchase, where someone can obtain a digital file of your work. You or those who buy your NFT art can display it on social media and digital frames designed for the NFT art stored in your crypto wallet. You can also display your NFT art on any monitor, including a computer, tablet, and mobile phone. You can print your NFT art, too; however, the print quality may be imperfect because it's saved for high-definition display. 

To showcase or sell your digital artwork, you’ll need to transform your original artwork into an accessible digital format such as JPEG, PNG, GIF, and MP3. NFT marketplaces use cryptocurrency instead of dollars or credit cards, so you’ll need a digital wallet to sell your digital artwork. 

If you have used PayPal or Venmo, you’ve used a digital wallet. A digital wallet offers a cashless way to pay for purchases. For the NFT marketplace, you’ll need a wallet that supports cryptocurrency. The digital wallet will hold your “keys”—the passwords needed to access your cryptocurrency. 

Many digital wallets are available, so check what will best meet your needs. For example, you may need to choose between a software wallet and a hardware wallet. A software wallet is online—you can choose between mobile, desktop, tablet, or any other digital device. A hardware wallet typically resembles a USB drive and is a tangible way of storing your digital assets.

Choosing an NFT marketplace for NFT art

Once you’ve decided to join an NFT marketplace to sell your art, you’ll need to choose the one that best suits your objectives. You should match your art to the market for the best results.

• OpenSea: OpenSea is the largest NFT marketplace. You can set up an account quickly, and you won’t need to wait for the platform to review your work. OpenSea offers many categories, including art, photography, and music. Buying, selling, and trading are all valid ways of distributing anything in digital form on OpenSea. One advantage is that OpenSea is user-friendly and accepts traditional debit or credit cards instead of cryptocurrency.

• Rarible: Like OpenSea, anyone who signs up for Rarible may access this site. Rarible accepts credit cards for fixed-price assets; however, auctions require cryptocurrency. One advantage of this site is that any listing on Rarible also becomes available on OpenSea, which broadens outreach for artists. 

• SuperRare: Digital artists are invited to SuperRare, a curated marketplace that seeks high-quality artwork. It operates as a virtual art gallery, and visitors view schedules and fees for different pieces. SuperRare also offers scheduled and reserved auctions for art enthusiasts.

• Foundation: Until recently, Foundation was an invite-only NFT platform, allowing anyone to sign up and sell on its marketplace. Creators can list and sell their work as they can on other NFT marketplaces, such as OpenSea and SuperRare. You must connect your digital wallet to Foundation and create your collection. Buyers can make an instant purchase or make an offer. You can also auction your work and sell it to the highest bidder. One advantage of this site is that NFTs can be simultaneously listed for different selling methods such as Buy Now, Reserve Auction, or Batch Listing.

• Coinbase: A newcomer to the NFT marketing world, Coinbase boasts its ease of use and security. The site offers some exclusive NFT projects and is easy for beginners to navigate. Coinbase NFT is for fixed-price art only. At this time, it doesn’t offer an auction feature.

The future of NFT art

NFT art has been rapidly gaining popularity and promises an empowering future to artists. With the rise of NFTs, digital artists now have the opportunity to have full control over their creative works while engaging in new digital revenue streams.

NFT art communities bring together artists and collectors who are new to patronizing the arts. Showcasing or selling in the NFT marketplace can reach global audiences, giving artists more recognition and longevity for digital art platforms. 

Get started in graphic design and digital art

With technology steadily growing, digital art may be the next step in your art career. The use of NFTs has made buying and selling digital art easy and accessible worldwide. Enhancing your technical skills in character drawing, animation, and sketching will better equip you to showcase and sell your art on the NFT marketplace right for you. 

Learning the basics of graphic design can help you build your skills in the digital art space. Immerse yourself in the world of graphic design on Coursera with the Fundamentals of Graphic Design course. Gain more comprehensive skills with the Basic Elements of Design: Design Principles and Software Overview course, in which you will learn how to use shape, form, and structure to enhance your digital art.

Like NFTs, cryptocurrency is also created on a blockchain that allows users to own, buy, and sell currency for products such as digital art. To learn more about cryptocurrency, Coursera offers a Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies class through Princeton University that can help you understand it on a technical level.