My Right Hand Knows Not What My Left Hand Doeth

In a previous post, I featured a scrolling image that I had made using digital media , which was constructed out of little icons, put together to form a larger image.

I am now going to let you in on a little secret: when I make digital artworks, I use my LEFT HAND to design with the computer mouse, and when I make hand-drawn artworks, I draw with my RIGHT HAND. (Now, I will also admit that even for the “hand-drawn images”, I will often “cheat” by first drawing the image by hand, and then scanning the image into the computer and adding the colors. But still, they do start out as hand-drawn images… 🙂 )

Digital Image Vs Hand-Drawn Image

I am actually right-handed, and used to use my right hand to design with the mouse, but began to develop carpal tunnel syndrome in my right arm from doing so, and thus had to switch over to using my left hand when I do artwork in that manner. And so I am now very comfortable using the left hand for that purpose. (It seems that my right arm has since greatly healed itself, but I continue to mouse with the left hand out of habit now-)

Interestingly enough, even when I had the problem in my right arm, I could still use my right hand to write and draw by hand; but when I tried to use the computer mouse with that hand, the pain would return. Meanwhile, my left arm has never developed the same problem that my right arm did from drawing with the computer mouse…

I have tried (out of curiosity) to experiment using my left hand when writing or making hand-drawn artwork, but for some reason, I could never get comfortable doing so.

I think one reason for this is with the manner in which the tools for producing the images are held, and used.

When drawing with more traditional hand-held media, such as pencil or pen, you tend to grasp it more with your fingers, especially the thumb, index and middle finger. This is conducive to using more articulate motions of the fingers and wrist, and there are certain muscles in the fingers, hand, and arm that control these movements.

On the “other hand” ( 🙂 ), when creating designs using the computer mouse (or, “drawing with a bar of soap”, as some artists like to put it), the way you have to hold the mouse, in the palm of your hand, is less conducive to using a lot of fine articulate kinds of movements with your hand and fingers; rather, it seems to lead to using broader kinds of movements involving the wrist and the arm. It seems that the muscles in the hand, wrist, and arm that are involved in this kind of drawing approach are different from those used in drawing with, say, a pencil. (I also should briefly mention here that there are two main approaches to digital graphics – one is the “Bitmap” approach, which is used in say, Adobe Photoshop, and the other is the “Vector graphics” approach, which is used in, say, Adobe Illustrator; and I tend to use the “Vector graphics” approach more.)

While the physiological implications of using these different kinds of media were very readily apparent to me (my right arm would become very sore when I used the computer mouse for creating images), I have noticed that there is also a psychological factor that becomes involved: It just feels “different” when drawing by hand or with a computer mouse.

Digital Image Vs Hand-Drawn Image

Now, how do I go about trying to explain this?

Creating hand-drawn images has a kind of “warmth” and “personal-ness” to it. It seems that one can put more “empathy” and “feeling” into an image that is drawn by hand. I notice that I tend to “Feel” more than “Think” when I draw by hand. The actual direct contact of the media to the paper may also contribute to this. On the other hand, sometimes it gets to feeling too “stuffy”, like being in a room with all the windows closed – it can be too “warm” for comfort, and cries for a breath of fresh air.

Creating digital images has a kind of “edge” to it; a kind of freshness and excitement, if you will. It has a kind “tangy-ness” or “tartness” to its flavor; or perhaps a kind of “metropolitan dissonance” to its feel. I notice that I have the tendency to “Think” more than “Feel” when I am creating digital images. The electronic nature of the computer media may have something to do with this. And yet, it can occasionally get to feeling too “artificial”, “contrived”, or even “mechanical” and “impersonal” at times.

And so I tend to like to switch back and forth between media, and styles.

Interestingly enough, I’ve heard people sometimes comment that viewing artworks made in these different kinds of approaches – hand-drawn versus digitally-drawn – can give them “that warm, personal feeling”, or can be “too cute”; or they can get a feeling that has a “fresh edge” to it, or the images can be just “too cold” for their tastes.

Digital Image Vs Hand-Drawn Image

And so the media and approach to creating artwork influences both the body and the mind of the artist. There is a kind of interplay, or “dialogue” that seems to occur between that which is being created, and the person who is creating it. And it seems that this is often in turn communicated to the viewer.

I could go on speculating much further about the possible psychology behind all this, but I think I’ll close this post by saying that between drawing by hand or drawing with a computer mouse, there are times when “my right hand knoweth not what my left hand doeth.” 🙂