2D Artist Day Date in the current year: December 2, 2024

3December is an annual event that was launched by Alias System Corporation in 2006 to celebrate 3D computer graphics. Digital artists who create 2D art and animation felt left out, so they created their own holiday, which is celebrated a day earlier, on December 2. It is unclear who exactly came up with the idea, but does it really matter? What matters is that 2D artists certainly deserve recognition because they work just as hard as any other artist.

Digital art isn’t as different from traditional art as many people think. The general principle is the same; it is the medium that is different. Traditional artists use paint, pencils, charcoal and other traditional media to create their art, while digital artists use digital technology, which includes both software and hardware, such as graphic tablets.

Some people think of digital art as “cheating”, but they couldn’t be more wrong. Just like any traditional artist, a digital artist should have essential skills and knowledge that don’t depend on the media they use: composition skills, the knowledge of proportion and perspective, the ability to draw from life as well as from memory and imagination, the skills of realistic and constructive drawing, the knowledge of human proportions and anatomy, color theory, and more. A lot of artists start drawing traditionally before transitioning to digital art.

The only considerable advantages of digital art are the undo button and the freedom to save your work at any point and revise it at various stages of completion. Except for that, traditional art and digital art are by and large the same: to be a good artist, you need talent, knowledge and skills, and you need to know your medium or media.

2D artists can earn by doing commissions, selling their art as posters and prints, or working in a specific field where their skills are required. These fields include, but are not limited to, game art design (where a 2D artist can work as a concept, storyboard, or texture artist), graphic design, web design, animation, publishing, and more. Many artists who have a job would still occasionally do commissions or sell their original art, either to earn some extra money or to do something different creatively (or both).

On December 2, reach out to digital artists you know, congratulate them and compliment them on their art. And if you’ve been thinking of commissioning one of your favorite artists, this is the best day to finally do it!