All Things Painter Where Does One Draw the Line? by John Derry

Recently, an online user in a Corel® Painter™ forum posed an interesting question: where does one draw the line when emulating the foibles of traditional media on the computer? After all, since the computer can render a circle with unerring precision; why approximate one exhibiting human imperfections? The answer lies in the artist's intent.

A draftsman would certainly not indicate the cross-section of a drainage pipe with a hand-drawn circle. Precision is the essence of engineering drawings. An engineering drawing is a graphic communication of measured dimensions. Drafting tools are employed as an aid to achieving measured precision.

Enso is a Japanese word meaning circle. It is one of the most common subjects of Japanese calligraphy. Drawn as a single sumi-e brush stroke, the enso is said to represent the present state of mind of the artist, acting as a spiritual diary of sorts. This circle represents the infinite, permanence, emptiness, the void, the universe. The very imperfections and contours of the enso, which must be painted by the human hand rather than constructed as a mathematically correct circle, make the enso a manifestation of perfection—it is perfect just as it is.

These two examples illustrate the extremes of intent with regard to rendering a simple circle. Each is marked by a distinctly different form of communication. The engineering drawing is an exact description of a complex object, acting as a guide, to be built by others. The enso is a personal—often spiritual—self-expression left open to interpretation.

Traditional mediums like oil paint and water color result in many happy accidents during their usage. These random imperfections, such as drips and bleeding color, can add interest and energy to the subject matter they portray. Like the calligrapher's enso, they underscore the artist's commitment to the final image.

These same characteristics are definitely not desirable with respect to precise drafting media. The era of hand-drawn engineering drawings has been largely replaced by computer-aided drawing applications, further reducing the chance of human imprecision. Any spurious elements on an engineering drawing could be misinterpreted and are therefore undesirable.

So where does one draw the line? Rather, how does one draw the line? It's all in the artist's intent.

John Derry
Somewhere in Kansas

John Derry is a pioneer of digital painting and one of the original authors of Corel® Painter™. Since 1985, he has leveraged his background in drawing and painting to advance the look and experience of traditional art-making tools on the computer. John has a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in Fine Art and is a practicing artist and photographer. He teaches Corel Painter workshops around the country and is currently serving as Corel's Painter Ambassador-at-Large. John's Web site is at www.pixlart.com.