Living on the edge: supporting continuous knowledge seeking among professional digital artists

Abstract

It would be difficult to imagine modern digital craftsmanship without artists continuously learning and mastering the software tools they use to create digital artifacts. From year to year, software companies introduce numerous changes into their digital products. In the frequent updates and patches, they release new features as well as re-envisions of some of the existing functionality. In addition to changes in the software itself, creative individuals invent new ways of using the functionality of their digital tools to achieve a variety of artistic effects. Such creative and often unexpected techniques generate a lot of interest among expert software users, who are constantly looking for ways to make their workflow more diverse and efficient [1]. Considering the two scenarios we outlined above, namely, the constantly changing software and the appearance of new techniques within its community of users, it is no wonder professional digital artists actively seek out new things they could learn about the software they use. Our research is aimed at understanding and supporting such continuous learning among professional users of digital software, particularly for those using the tools for creative work, such as artists and designers.

Citation

Dziubak, V. and Bunt, A. Living on the edge: supporting continuous knowledge seeking among professional digital artists. In Workshop on Digital Craftsmanship: HCI Takes on Technology as an Expressive Medium, DIS 2016.