Integrating Art and Technology: A Guide for Art Teachers and Art Academies
Dhwani Shah
June 27, 2025
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10 min read
Two weeks ago, betting platform Kalshi aired a fully AI-generated ad during the NBA finals that only cost only $2000 and two days to make. Last year, director Blair Vermette created an entirely AI-generated spec ad promoting a floral collection by athletic apparel and footwear giant Adidas.
Let’s take an example closer to home, something we’ve all seen our social media feeds flooded with: ChatGPT’s Studio Ghibli style art. Now, I wholeheartedly support all the concerns and arguments against this trend, but you can’t deny the fact that technology is reshaping the world of art. While traditional art forms, with their special charm and the depth of hours of dedicated labour, will never lose their relevance and authenticity, technology can certainly enhance the creative process.
As educators, it’s important to keep up with rising trends to mould students for the modern global age. From iPads replacing sketchbooks to augmented reality bringing static canvases to life, the evolution of art technology is also changing the future of art and artistic careers. Incorporating technology early in the classroom can not only help students adapt better to the demands of what lies ahead, but also make your classes more relevant.
If you are an art teacher or an art academy owner looking to stand out and add more value to your classes, read on to explore how new technologies can be used to create art, along with practical strategies for integrating technology in the art classroom.
Today’s learners are surrounded and enraptured by screens and by the internet—they swipe before they scribble, and they’re naturally drawn to screen-based interaction. Integrating art and technology is the perfect way to make art education more interactive, dynamic and aligned with how learners already consume and create content, keeping them interested and engaged.
Incorporating new art forms like digital art, animation and augmented reality art into your curriculum not only allows students to explore innovative art forms but also introduces them to a range of modern, in-demand skills, which prepare them for careers in design, digital media, architecture and other creative fields. Parents value future-ready programs and academies that equip their children with relevant skills and the use of modern tools. Offering such courses increases your value proposition in the market, and thereby your revenue.
Technology is an effective means of monitoring growth. Students can create online portfolios of their artwork, showcasing their growth over time. Teachers can use AI-powered platforms to analyze student work and identify learning patterns, tailoring instruction and feedback accordingly.
Running an art studio involves more than simply teaching. There’s a lot of behind-the-scenes labour that goes into managing a successful art class—class scheduling, online bookings, payment collection, attendance tracking, timely communication and more. However, technology comes to the rescue once again with class management software, specifically designed to make life easier for educators like you. Platforms like Classcard automate key administrative tasks, making day-to-day operations smoother and smarter, freeing up valuable time and effort so you can focus on teaching.
Picture an artist’s table—sprawled with brushes of every size, paints, sketch pads, canvases, palettes, knives, airbrushes and the various other tools that go into creating stunning human artwork. Now, imagine all of these tools combined into a single screen, the whole artistic experience bundled on a single device. This is exactly what digital art tools and applications provide.
Sophisticated digital art software like Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Fresco, Procreate, and Clip Studio Paint have truly revolutionized the way we create art. Your stylus or cursor become brushes, textures, colors and layers, allowing you to create modern abstract art, precise line drawings and everything in between. Be it a beginner or a seasoned artist, everyone can experiment with different tools, techniques and styles, undoing and redoing their work without the fear of ruining it.
When it comes to the disciplines of 3D modeling and sculpture, software like Blender, Tinkercad, and ZBrush help students digitally design complex shapes which can then be brought to life using a range of materials with 3D printers. This method also allows artists and designers to create multiple copies of their work with lesser time and effort.
Perhaps the biggest advantage of the internet is the democratization of knowledge, which has made art education (and all education, in general) easily accessible to millions of students across the globe. A simple YouTube search opens up a treasure trove of resources for aspiring artists, covering everything from oil painting to charcoal art. In fact, I myself learnt the art of embroidery by following a series of comprehensive YouTube tutorials.
Platforms like Domestika, Skillshare and Udemy take it up a notch by offering elaborate art courses by experts across various disciplines and art styles, ranging from sketching and painting to advanced woodwork and sculpting, and even digital art software such as Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Figma, and Procreate, among others. The detailed step-by-step explanations on these video courses and tutorials allow students to explore and hone new art forms and skills at their own pace, from the comfort of their homes, and at affordable price points.
Students can submit assignments, connect with the educators to clarify doubts, and receive personalized feedback on their work. Moreover, these courses are often supplemented with an online forum to promote interactions, discussions and sharing of ideas among members of the cohort, often from different parts of the world.
Augmented reality and virtual reality are no longer futuristic concepts. These technologies are witnessing phenomenal growth and are revolutionizing the way the world works. AR and VR hold immense potential for transforming the way we teach, create and interact with art by offering immersive experiences that make art accessible to all.
Virtual reality enables students to step into digital worlds as active participants rather than passive viewers. Learners and art enthusiasts can walk through virtual art galleries and world-famous museums, and interact with pieces in a way that would not be possible in a physical gallery. Imagine giving your students a guided tour of the Louvre, zooming in on the Mona Lisa and explaining them the fine details of one of the most renowned paintings in the world, all from within your studio! With VR tools like Tilt Brush by Google, students can paint and draw in immersive 3D space, pushing their creative boundaries beyond paint and paper.
Using augmented reality to overlay digital elements onto the physical world, students can visualize their creations in real-world environments. With just a smartphone or a tablet, students can see how their paintings would look on a real wall or interact with animations that bring static images to life. For example, the ARKit app developed by LaanLabs lets users project their paintings or pictures onto the walls of their homes and experiment with different styles using deep learning. In one installation of The Future World exhibition at Singapore’s ArtScience Museum, visitors’ physical drawings are scanned and instantly brought to life in animated virtual environments, which visitors can interact with using AR.
While investing in AR and VR technologies can be a sizable investment, (and not one that you may necessarily want to consider for your art academy at the moment), there are other ways to incorporate them in your art classroom on a budget. Use apps like Artivive and Adobe Aero app to enhance physical paintings and bring student artwork to life. Thanks to the many initiatives by Google Art & Culture, you can use the power of AR to transport Van Gogh’s Starry Night in your bedroom or even step into the most famous paintings, simply using your smartphone camera. You don’t need expensive headsets or custom hardware. With augmented reality and virtual reality, the creative possibilities are endless.
Artists, like professionals in any field, learn through give and take. The internet has become an ever-evolving space for artists and art students to share their work, gather creative insights and hone their skills. Platforms like Behance and DeviantArt provide a space for students to organize and share their artwork, allowing them to create digital portfolios of their labours of love. This online presence enhances their visibility among peers, mentors and even recruiters. Besides, they can also browse through the creative journeys of other artists' and gain inspiration from different styles and genres, while also seeking feedback from fellow contemporaries and industry professionals.
Students can co-create artwork with other artists in real-time, exchanging ideas and perspectives without being physically present in the same space, thanks to tools like Google Jamboard and Figma. Cross-disciplinary collaborations are especially interesting—a student with an interest in typography teams up with another who specializes in impasto to create truly something unique. The animated movie Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama is, in my opinion, a testament to the beauty that originates out of collaborative artwork. This 1993 film brought together three different schools of animation, Manga from Japan, Disney from the US and Ravi Varma from India, long before today’s modern collaborative tools existed. More than two decades later, smart tools have simplified the collaborative process by leaps and bounds, stimulating idea generation and inspired execution.
The use of interactive whiteboards and projectors is not a novel concept in the realm of education. However, it finds a place beyond the solving of complex math equations and dissecting science diagrams, in the modern art classroom.
With a projector and a smart board, art educators can deliver live demonstrations of new techniques or digital art tools on the big screen making explanations easier for students to follow. Teachers can project, zoom in and annotate on high-resolution images of artworks on the screen to highlight brushwork, textures or compositions and explain concepts, styles and historical contexts. Students too can deeply engage with the material by annotating, drawing or writing on the shared whiteboard screen.
As the name suggests, flipped learning reverses or flips the conventional model of classroom-based learning. Instead of delivering instruction in class and assigning practice as homework, students are introduced to learning material before the class while classroom time is used for deeper engagement and hands-on experimentation with the subject matter.
In the art classroom, a major chunk of time is devoted to introducing learners to and demonstrating new techniques. For example, when introducing students to the painting style of Impressionism, typically, you’d first walk them through its history, show visual examples (my favorite one is, of course, Starry Night by Van Gogh!) and then spend some time demonstrating the brushwork.
With the flipped classroom model, you could ask students to watch curated videos or conduct some research about Impressionism at home. Then, in class, they can dive straight into putting paint to paper as you guide them along the way, allowing more time for experimentation and personal expression.
The next time you’re introducing a new art technique or style, share a recorded video demonstration of the same with your students. Ask them to watch it at home and supplement it with their own basic research before class. Begin the class with a simple assignment to test their understanding as you provide feedback and progressively move onto more advanced projects.
Being an art educator is no easy task. The demands of lesson planning, material preparation, fostering creativity across different skill levels, teaching a hands-on discipline that requires your constant attention, coupled with juggling multiple administrative tasks can quickly get physically and mentally overwhelming.
That’s where technology in the art classroom becomes more than just a digital art tool. Class management software emerges as a strong support system for art teachers, simplifying day-to-day administrative operations and freeing time to focus on what matters most: nurturing creativity.
With an all-in-one class management system like Classcard, you can effortlessly:
Now that we’ve explored how to assimilate technology in the art classroom, here are some sample lesson plans to help you combine traditional mediums and digital tools.
By initiating innovative lessons, students are exposed to creative solutions that broaden their artistic horizons and keep them engaged and excited to delve deeper.
If you are an art teacher or art studio owner looking to modernize your operations and grow your academy, Classcard is for you! Let us do the heavy lifting while you inspire the artists of tomorrow. Book a free demo with us, we promise you’ll love it!
“The art challenges the technology, and the technology inspires the art.” ~ John Lasseter, Former CCO of Pixar and Disney Animation
Technology is here to complement, not replace, traditional art techniques. Combining art and technology in the right way will unlock new potential for both students and instructors and future-proof your studio. Start small and build gradually, incorporating one new idea at a time to create a truly ingenious learning atmosphere, where students don’t just colour within the lines, but think outside the box.