TECHNOLOGY BASED ART Role and Function of Artworks

21stCentury Technology-based Art-Role and Function of Artworks

Art has always been a part of human life. By analyzing artworks, one was able to
identify and derive the tradition and culture from where it came from. Arts has a vast ideology
that continues to unfold as time passes by.
As the world enters the 21st century, a lot of things have changed. Surely, the
technologies available these times have greatly affected our way of living. Progress has been
evident on almost every field, may it be in engineering, cooking, entertainment and even in
arts.
Technology has been a powerful and vibrant aid in expressing one’s idea. It has been
an effective tool in conveying advocacies and goals. The application of technology in art has
widen its entire range of media – from canvas, walls and cloths to billboards, television and
even cinemas.
Digital art has been prevalent nowadays, you are probably surrounded by tons of them,
from social media platforms to the flashing advertisements on televisions and on billboards.
Digital are arts that were made with the use of a computer.

For example;
 Mobile Phone – photos and videos
 Digital Photography (Point-and-Shoot and
DSLR Cameras) – in creating photo art
 Digital Painting and Imaging
 Computer Generated Images (CGI)
 Videos (TV and Film) – in making
advertisements, films, documentaries, and games

Computer-generated Images (CGI) has been a

widespread powerful business tool – from textile designs, package designs, furniture designs
to animations has been dependent on computers. CGI is mostly used in animations on films,
advertising, and product design. CGIs undergo several digital manipulations such as
overlapping, adding, enhancing, and creating patterns, collages, photos, and other digital
designs.

As a famous phrase goes, “A picture I worth a

thousand words”, images captured digitally can also
convey emotions and tell stories. An image can show
what kind of tradition and history a community has.

Digital Photography is a technology-based art that makes use of devices that automatically
set and adjust the needed elements (shutter opening, shutter speed, flash lighting, zoom
inlout, etc.) to ensure a good quality image. The two basic types of digital photography are
point-and-shoot and DSLR.
Digital Arts can also be applied on Video Games, Digital Imaging, Digital Painting and Videos
(TV and Films).
❖ Video Games – video games are not only
played and enjoyed by countless gamers of
different ages all over the world, they can also
be developed by amateurs on a personal
device and usually contain a storyline.
Storyline is a series of events and probabilities
that the creator produces on how he wants the
game to run. These storylines can be inspired
by a lot of factor such as the developer’s
personal experiences, sports, movies, comics,
myths, legends, and/or other games.

Digital Painting – Digital painting requires

the combination of a software application
and a hardware device. It is similar to the
typical way of drawing, only that the artist
uses digital pens to draw on digital pads
and/or graphic tablets. In digital painting,
basic art elements and principles are being
utilized and combined in order to produce an
artwork which contains balance, movement
and emphasis. Even though it uses
technology, lessons on the effective use of
value, texture, shape, color, line and perspective still apply. JOKER 2019 CHAIRIT
INKLENG

Digital Imaging – a variety of software such as Adobe Photoshop, Frame Magic, Snapseed
and Adobe Lightroom has been circulating in the digital imaging world. These apps are used
in designing images to be printed on vast media such as papers, ceramics, and fabrics.

Aside from photographs taking final forms in commercial products, digital images can also be
used in capturing essential moments for the world to see.
Videos (TV and Films) – A video is consisting of a series of frames/pictures which produces
a moving image. Video editing software’s such as iMovie and Dreamweaver were used in
order to create visual effects on the pre-shot videos available. Video editing in TV and Films
improves the cinematography by heaps. With the use of technology, high tech effects can
now be seen in our films today.

TECHNOLOGY BASED ART

Media Techniques
Technology has literally taken over every aspect of life in the 21st century, and the creative
and visual arts have not been spared. In fact, for the younger generations, art as you know it
is defined by technology- from its creation, to its manipulation, to its reproduction and even to
its distribution.
Technology-based art is essentially computer-generated and/or manipulated. Through the
centuries, visual artists used actual brushes and palettes, and a whole array of paints, inks,
and natural pigments applied to paper, canvas, fabric, stucco walls and ceilings.
COMPUTER\DIGITAL ARTS
Computer/digital arts make use of electronic and mechanical devices, rather than the
artist’s own hand, to produce the desired images and effects. Thus, these are technology-
based art forms. In recent decades, personal gadgets such as laptops, tablets, and android
phones have incorporated the artistic capabilities of the large-scale computers. So, it is now
possible for anyone to be a digital artist.

MOBILE
PHONE ART
The mobile phone that you constantly hold has evolved from a mere communication tool, into
a creative device that allows you to generate original works of art for an entire range of
purposes. These could be personal photographs and videos that you can manipulate with a
myriad special effect, both visual as well as sound and music. And the wonder of it all is that
you can do all these right on your own mobile devices, particularly the new-generation models
known as android tablets, phones, and combination of both called “phablets.”
You are probably already familiar with the following image manipulation programs and
applications that run on today’s android devices:
 Pixlr- powerful, free online image editor
 Pic Collage- allows you to make collages incorporating, photos into stickers, and
frames
 Photo Grid- a downloadable application for android phones that allows you to make
collages out of images from your gallery.
  Doodle Booth- an iPad application (with a free downloadable version) That enables
you to “doodle” your images using available stickers.
 Flipagram- a downloadable application that allows you “to bring your photos to life” in
short videos set of music of your choice.
 Instagram- a fast and fun way to share images to other; snap a photo, choose from
among the available filters, ang share via Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and more.

COMPUTER - GENERATED IMAGES

If you want to create original images from scratch, you can make your own illustrations using
specialized programs for image generation and manipulation. Examples of these would be
Adobe Illustrator and Corel Draw. These are, however, designed to run on desktop computers
and laptops, so you would need to have access to these larger and more complex devices.
Among such programs are:
 Gimp (GNU Image Manipulation  Picasa
Program)  Paint Star
 Paint.net  Smooth Draw
 Inkscape  Spray
 Xara Extreme  Karbon
 Artweaver  Adobe Photoshop Express
 Draw Plus  Corel PaintShop Pro X5
 Pencil

DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY
Another means of generating an original image is to capture it first as a digital file. In the case
of today’s electronic technology, that would mean recording the image using a digital camera
or a device with a built-in camera, like your mobile phone, android device, or tablet. The
photographer (or a commercial developing service) would then have to process the exposed
film in a special enclosed space known as a “dark room”—and only then would the recorded
images be seen.
Point-and-shoot vs DSLR
Point-and-shoot type of digital camera which automatically makes all the adjustments in
lighting, focus, zoom-in and zoom-out, even removal of “red eye” with the user being given
some leeway for slight adjustments. It offers image enhancement features like adjusting color
and brightness imbalances, as well as sharpening or blurring the image. It may even offer
unique effects like “fisheye” or filters that allow pre-setting of the photo to be taken with a
colored tint or a special texture.
Point-and-shoot means that the camera pre-set the needed elements so that the user can
literally just click away.
A second option is the digital single lens reflex (DSLR) camera. This also provides the
film-less and instant review features of a “point-and-shoot” type of digital camera but gives
the photographer much more artistic freedom and control to select the camera settings to
create the desired final image with the preferred visual effects.
DSLR type enables the photographer to still make his/her own judgement on how to use the
features available and the techniques he knows such as capturing from unique angles in order
to take good images.
Basic Tips for Taking Good Photographs
1. Choose a good location.
2. Check that the available background is relatively simple and not too cluttered, so that the
focus will be on your chosen subject.
3. Natural light in the outdoors or near a window is usually the most flattering or effective for
any kind of subject. Ideally, the best light for photos is within the first hour after sunrise and
the last hour before sunset.
4. Avoid taking shots facing the light, as this would make your subject backlit and most of the
details would be lost in shadow.
5. If you intend to take a posed shot, position your subject where you want in relation to the
location, background, and source of light.
6. If you intend to take a candid shot, position yourself where you can capture the most
interesting, amusing, touching, or engaging moment or expression.
7. Take a variety of shots—ranging from far shots showing the surroundings, to medium-
distance shots concentrating on the main subject, to tight or close-up shots that focus on
details of the subject.
VIDEO GAMES
For today’s younger generation that grew up in a digital world, even entertainment now
comes courtesy of computer devices. A major component of such entertainment is in the form
of video games of every conceivable genre, subject matter, and skill level. Then there are the
tremendously popular games of strategy, war, science fiction, and mythical worlds that
employ amazingly complex and realistic graphics, motion, sound, and other special effects.
Like image creation and manipulation, it is now possible for video game fans to become
video game creators themselves. Online tutorials and guides are available on sites like e-how,
Instructables, and YouTube. Plus, there are available programs that can be downloaded and
used immediately, with no need for prior knowledge on coding or web development.
Examples of such programs are:
• Twine - http://twinery.org/
• Stencyl - https://www.udemy.com/create-your-first-computer-game-with stencyl/
• GameMaker - https://www.yoyogames.com/learn
DIGITAL PAINTING
Digital painting is a method of creating an artwork using a computer. This is, however,
different from the image generating devices and programs discussed above, which create,
modify, store, and share images entirely on a laptop, tablet, or android phone. Digital painting
still makes use of traditional painting mediums such as acrylic paint, oils, ink, and watercolor,
and applies the pigment to traditional surfaces, such as canvas, paper, polyester etc.
Digital painting also refers to a technique using a graphics software program to create an
artwork that is totally virtual. The canvas, brushes, paints, and other tools are all virtual,
existing only within the computer. And the finished work is also stored in virtual format, to be
shared through cyber space.
Ctrl+Paint is an example of an online resource for teaching yourself digital painting for free,
via simple videos and mini tutorials.
VIDEO TECHNOLOY/IMAGING VIDEOS
Social media purposes - Another tremendously powerful and innovative field that digital
technology has revolutionized is that of creating and presenting videos. The explosion of
social media in recent decades has provided a new platform for video materials targeting the
“netizens” of today. Not only are there online advertisements that continuously bombard the
users’ computer screens and mobile phone displays. But there are also millions of personally
produced videos that are constantly uploaded to online platforms like YouTube—from music,
dance, and stage performances to tutorials of all kinds to recipes to documentaries to news
clips to marriage proposals.
Medical/scientific purposes – Another extremely valuable use of today’s video technology
is that of imaging videos in the fields of medicine and science. You may be familiar with
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Computerized Tomography (CT scans), and the
like which are used to create and record visual images of a patient’s internal anatomy in order
to diagnose and treat diseases and injuries. There are also ultrasound tests or sonograms,
which translate sound waves bouncing off physical objects into images that can be studied—
whether a baby developing in the womb (in 2D, 3D, and 4D options), growths or
malformations inside the body, structural flaws in buildings, as well as objects in outer space,
underground, and deep in the ocean.