Traditional art is what most people think of as "art." Drawing, painting, old fashioned darkroom photography, printmaking, lithography, sculpture and pretty much anything else you do with your own two hands are all considered traditional art.

Digital art, by contrast, is artwork made on a computer. It can be photography with a digital camera, photoediting using a program like Photoshop or GIMP or an animation in a program like Flash or Blender.

More often than not, these days, artists are blending the two mediums to create a hybrid of traditional and digital media. For example, in my own work I will often use a pencil or pen to hand draw an image (traditional art) and then scan it and color it in the computer (digital art). Therefore artists can be completely traditional or digital or any combination of the two.

Having done both digital and traditional art, it is interesting to note that there are definite stereotypes associated with each.

A traditional artist is supposedly sad, angsty or scatter brained. They are often portrayed as bleeding hearts, radical left-wingers and angry at the world.

Digital artists, by contrast, are often assumed to be nerdy, obsessed with technology and excessively sheltered from the world outside their computer monitor.

There are some things that lend themselves to these ideas. It takes a lot of emotional connectedness and creativity (read 'angsty' and 'scatter brained') to continuously come up with interesting material. For digital artists, it is very necessary to immerse yourself in a whole new set of vocabulary and techniques that sometimes make people feel like outsiders during normal conversation.

As for actually making artwork, it is surprising how similar digital and traditional art really are.

Both deal with good composition and the elements and principles of design. If you aren't familiar with those, I have a great link that will tell you all you ever wanted to know. Both types deal with color theory, both types are strengthened by creative concepts and both types rely heavily on good hand-eye co-ordination.

Digital has the advantage of an "undo" button, while traditional has the advantage of being immersive and messy. Sometimes, there is nothing more satisfying than taking a piece of chalk or crayon and putting a mark RIGHT THERE with your hand. It is infinately more difficult to place your mark correctly in programs such as Lightwave or Blender. Both forms of art can be highly frustrating and highly rewarding by turns. It all depends on your mood and the end result you have in mind!