Atoms Are Becoming Bits

A while back my colleague Enric Gili pointed out a trend to me. He said that what used to be atoms is soon becoming bits. The fact that text, pictures, books, magazines, news papers, songs and movies have become bits is quite obvious. Less obvious is the fact that physical things such as clocks, calendars, calculators, and radios have also become bits. Even less obvious is the fact that sketch books, brushes, pencils, pens and cameras have become bits.

I had a first hand experience of this recently when I started sketching with a Samsung Galaxy Note using the Autodesk Sketchbook Pro app. I used to spend a ton of money on pencils, brushes and paper to sketch when I was in design school. Once I finished sketching I spent even more time and money on converting them into slides for my presentations and exhibitions. With drawing and sketching tools becoming bits, this process of creation and sharing has become easier. This does not mean the skill itself is becoming easier to master. You still need to understand the basics of drawing and illustration, know how to pick your brushes and colors and have a steady hand. But if you have the skills and the focus, the act of sketching has suddenly become more accessible.

This is an orchid that I sketched recently. Can you tell that it was done completely on a tablet without using  physical pencils, brushes, erasers or colors?