Given what I've covered in parts 1&2, you might be wondering what else could be said on the matter of worth between the mediums. In truth, a lot. Traditional, such as it is, covers such a wide range of varied mediums itself, that going into great detail could take a lot of time. Digital, is also constantly growing and developing at a rapid rate. They each have their benefits and their downfalls, but when it comes to worth in art, you have to remember that art is subjective, and what you may not pay a single cent for, someone else may be willing to spend thousands. What I really want to talk about in this final part of the series however, is a matter of a couple specific points.
The demand of digital is ever growing in the fandom. There has apparently been the comment made to an artist, maybe more than one, that no one wants traditional any more. If this was the case, then I would think no one would bother with the argument that traditional is worth more just based on supplies. There is likely always going to be a demand for traditional, however slight it may become. As more and more digital artists are refusing to work with traditional character references, it may make an impact on the traditional market, but how much so is hard to say. Regardless, many people still like having a tangible piece of art in their hands, in their homes, and some people in the fandom still value tangible art over digital. This is a personal preference, and in contrast some may value digital more because it's not going to change or degrade, and what you see on the computer is what you get.
I will say that while the initial cost of a piece doesn't matter, that it is a matter of skill, there is one more major thing I would like to talk about.
It's called 'Investment Value'. But before we get into that we have to talk about a couple of other things.
First off, is the fact that, when talking about the modern age of art, some odd decades ago, wildlife art wasn't really taken seriously by galleries. Digital art, as a whole, isn't really taken seriously by galleries, yet many companies that rely on artists have more or less moved towards the consistency that digital can produce. What does this stuff have to do with anything? As wildlife art has become accepted, and as the demand for digital grows both inside and outside of the fandom, we don't know what the future holds. There are artists, past and present, who have created anthropomorphic works that were valued by the public. And the fandom isn't all adult related. We have a number of talented artists who are as good as many professionals in and outside of the industry-it's important to realize that there may very well come a day where "furry" art may be valued greater than we do now.
Secondly, I think all of us, at one time or another, have lost a file or photo on the computer, or been locked out of an account. We have all seen websites and the information they hold fall into the black void of deletion. We have probably all had a computer get fried or just die, or know someone who has. The permanence of digital is a bit questionable. Even if the files manage to make it through the artist's life, what then? Will someone else be able to access them? Do any of us think about that? How far will anyone go to ensure the legacy of their art in the digital medium? What are the steps needed, how will the steps evolve? When the last bit of data vanishes, if it does, are there prints? Some tangible form to live on?
Third, when it comes to traditional mediums, not every product will last for years to come either. Some pigments fade faster than others, currently the majority of markers are made with dyes rather than pigments, not all papers are acid-free, some things will break down over years, yellow and fade. While not everyone wants everything to last, and while some things just won't(lamination can come apart, degrade, and crumble for example...hint, hint, I'm talking about badges), it's still something to think about.
With all that said....we KNOW that original, traditional art, barring accidents and mishaps, can be around for centuries. Original pieces and high quality prints can last years on end. Such things, more so usually for the originals, hold what I mentioned earlier: Investment Value. This is because when an artist passes on, that's it-their body of work is done, there are no more pieces from them unless reanimated corpses suddenly become a thing. So collectors will hang on to pieces, sell them later on, and as time passes, for those artists of note, the value ends up increasing as demand goes up, as fewer pieces are being cycled through the art market. Art, for some, is seen as an investment that gains value, especially if an artist has been someone of note in their style, or seen as a pioneer.
Prints can have investment value themselves, especially those that are hand-pulled, and sometimes hand colored in the style of block printing or lithographs. In that case, when the prints are done being made, the plate is often destroyed for maintenance of the value of the prints. Limited runs are a thing of note as well. However, with digital, it will be hand-signed ones which will hold value any investment value, especially if the original file happen to stay intact and available. Though another thing to be considered is that if the copyright lapses, it becomes public domain, and prints can continue, though they won't be hand-signed. How will the art market handle digital medium in the future? That remains to be seen. We know in the long history of traditional, how things work in the art market, but anything could be possible with digital.
So what does this all mean? Well, it means that with digital, we are faced with a lot of unknowns. We KNOW for sure that original, traditional art holds investment value. We KNOW that hand pulled prints do as well. We don't know what the technology for printing will look like in the future for art, especially digital, and we don't know how the future will maintain digital art, protect it, use it. All of this are things to be considered, things to talk about and open up discussion for. Neither are 'lesser' mediums, but digital is still very much in it's infancy, as is the art market for it. We should be talking about it now, but we also shouldn't dismiss the known value of traditional either.
Variety is the spice of life after all!
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