In Rwanda, digital art, also referred to as illustration, has experienced a boost in the past few years. This can be credited to the increase of players, talents and creativity in this industry.

By definition, digital art is an artistic work or practice that uses digital technology as part of the creative or presentation process. In digital art, the artists use different electronic devices like computers, and other software, so as to make a meaningful finished drawing.

Digital art always comes in two forms including digital painting that could be considered as the essence of what digital art is right now, it also includes illustrations sometimes. Computer graphics is the digital art form which comprises two dimensional (2D) and three dimensional (3D) computer graphics and animations.

Benjamin Tuyishime, a concept artist based in Kigali, says that the main reason behind the rise of digital art in Rwanda is the mushrooming number of artistically talented youth, who are also technology enthusiasts that emerged in the digital art industry last year.

"As artists, we have to be creative in all aspects. I personally joined digital arts for the love I have for digital drawing, but besides that there is a huge number of traditional artists. And I thought that maybe if I can do something different, it will pay off,” he says.

Yves Iradukunda, a two dimensional artist based in Kigali, says the rise of digital art is largely in response to many young talents who graduate from Nyundo School of Arts and Music, which he says has contributed a lot.

"The digital system that children are learning opens their eyes and makes them think of new ways they can produce their artwork. As such, traditional art is no longer selling well,” he says.

"Another reason digital art is rising is because it has many benefits over traditional art. It doesn’t require more materials like traditional art that requires paints, brushes, canvas and other different materials for only one piece. With digital art, you will use all those with only one machine,” he adds. 

It also saves time, Iradukunda continues, traditional art scenes take a lot of time, especially when you want to make copies of your artwork, while in digital art, it is simple to make a piece itself and even make copies.

Iradukunda further explains that digital art is rising due to the fast paced world. "As artists in this industry, we are the ones who need to raise awareness among people. The pandemic has made it clear that technology is an important tool, especially when it comes to the creative arts industry. It is with that I encourage young talent to join the digital art industry. It is simple and easy to learn. It is also growing daily,” he highlights.

According to Robert Muhire, a visual artist based in Kigali, the digital art industry has experienced a boost due to the use of technical materials which are now easier to find and easy to learn in their manuals, which wasn’t the case a few years ago.

"Among the reasons digital art is on the rise, it is easy to learn. It doesn’t require you to go to school, you can learn through YouTube videos. In digital art, there are a lot of benefits, for example it is easier to correct colours and mix them, but difficult with traditional art. That’s why many artists prefer digital art over traditional art,” he says.

However, Tuyishime highlights that even though digital art is on the rise, there is still a long way to go. He says a lot still needs to be done for the digital art scene to keep rising.

"Many people still don’t value digital art as much as traditional art.  We still need to raise awareness as many people still don’t know how digital art works, and with that there are still stereotypes that digital art is just for lazy people, therefore, doesn’t deserve the same pay as traditional artwork,” he says.

Iradukunda also shares that the artists are benefiting from digital art as they make a living from it, adding that there is hope that the digital art industry will keep on improving with time.

"When you see talent that is graduating at Nyundo School of Arts and Music, there is hope that the digital art scene will keep on experiencing growth in the future,” he says.

Tuyishime says that most of the digital art pieces are used in children’s books, for advertisement, educational aid and many other purposes. Adding that it is the main reason for him to consider digital art as an important tool for the creative industry, while looking forward to its continuous growth in the future.