Reconfiguring the Sketch in the Digital Environment of Visual Arts: Compositional Structures Between Tradition and Technology
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This article examines the transformations of compositional structures within the digital environment of visual arts, with particular emphasis on the reconfiguration of the sketch from traditional techniques to contemporary media arts. Starting from the function of the sketch as an instrument of visual thinking and as a preliminary stage in the analog creative process, the study highlights how digitalization reshapes the logic of image construction without altering the conceptual essence of artistic practice. The reversibility of operations, layering, modularity, and the iterative possibility of adjustment transform digital composition into an open system subject to continuous recalibration. The analysis proposes a perspective of continuity between traditional and digital practices, arguing that contemporary technology operates as a cognitive and operational extension of the artist rather than as a substitute for creativity. In this context, the digital sketch no longer represents merely a transitional phase, but becomes a structural matrix and a space for conceptual experimentation. The article supports the idea of a hybrid practice in which the dialogue between manual gesture and digital processing reinforces compositional coherence. Consequently, structure precedes technology, while digital media amplifies the possibilities of articulating the contemporary image.
Author: Răzvan Dragoș
Language: English
Topic: Art, Technology, and Culture
Subfield: Visual Arts and Performing Arts
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $53
OpenAlex ID: W7160101889
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