How to Give Digital Art as a Gift (9 Fun and Unique Ways)
Digital art has opened up a whole new medium for creating beautiful works of art. I love the freeing feeling of not being limited by physical constraints in my creations. However, they present a whole new problem: how to give digital art as a gift.
There are a variety of ways to give digital art as a gift. Since it’s no longer a physical design on canvas or paper, it involves some creativity to make it into an actual gift. We’ll explore 9 fun and unique ways to go about doing so.
After all, when I go through all the time and effort to make a meaningful piece for, or inspired by someone, I should be able to share it with them!
How to Give Digital Art as a Gift
1. Print and frame your digital art like a traditional photo
One of the easiest methods to present your digital art piece as a gift is to simply print it and frame it, like you would any other photo.
This may be done at home, though you’ll need a few supplies to accomplish the task:
- A photo capable printer
- Photo paper
- Your chosen frame
- Matting (optional, if desired)
If you don’t have or want to get the tools to complete this at home, there are a variety of online printing services that will do it for you! Just send them your file, specify the size you want, and they’ll print and ship it to your door.
In both instances, I recommend making sure that your number of pixels is appropriate for the size photo you’d like. If you’re enlarging a very small piece of art to fit an 8×10 frame, it’s going to look blurry and undesirable.
Once you’ve got your digital art printed as a physical photo, just pop it in the frame. Wrap it up, and you’re ready to gift!
2. Have your digital art professionally applied to canvas, metal, or wood
Similar in concept to printing and framing, you could have your digital art applied to another common medium to give as a gift. The only advantage here is to forego the traditional frame in lieu of something more modern or unique looking.
Three of the most common alternatives are:
Just like the printing route, you upload your digital art to a place that will print it for you. Then, you’ll receive your completed piece in the mail, ready to wrap and gift!
3. Turn your digital art into a jigsaw puzzle
Turn your digital art into a jigsaw puzzle to give two gifts in one. Not only is it a great way to gift your digital artwork, but it’s an interactive puzzle the recipient can enjoy putting together.
Then they’ll have the option of disassembling and reassembling anytime they want, or they can permanently wall mount the puzzle once complete.
Much like the first two options, you’ll want to have your digital art file printed to a puzzle. I think it’s even easier, because it comes in a box! I’m far better at wrapping nice, neat boxes than pointy-edged picture frames.
4. Use your digital art piece for a design printed on a blanket or pillow
Using your digital art for printing on a blanket or pillow is another great way to give it as a gift. Like the puzzle option, this is a way to provide a dual purpose gift. Not only can the recipient enjoy the art, but they’ll be warm and comfortable as well.
I also tend to think about the person that gifted me something like this with their original artwork every time I use it. It’s a thoughtful and sentimental gift.
Simply upload your artwork for a photo blanket or customized photo pillow and a cozy original with your design will be on the way.
Besides, I think a pretty piece of art is more well received than someone’s face printed on something you sleep under. Otherwise I just feel like it’s watching me.
5. Turn your digital art into giftable merchandise
Just think, your art will be on a variety of different household objects, just perfect for gifting. This is the best option in my opinion when you have a large number of friends or family members that you want to give coordinating gifts.
Here are just some of the items you can print digital art on to give it as a gift:
- Coffee mugs
- Travel mugs
- T Shirts
- Sweatshirts
- Hats
- Keychains
- Coasters
- Mouse pads
- Tote bags
- Towels
- Aprons
Just upload your artwork to a merchandise printing company that has a create your own option. Select the item(s) you want and you’ve got merch!
Whether you want to turn your family into walking billboards for your art business or you just want to give a customized mouse pad to the gamer in your life – the possibilities are endless. I’ll take a coffee mug, please!
6. Give digital art in a digital picture frame
Gift your digital art in a digital picture frame, and preserve the original way in which it was created. This thoughtful gift also allows the recipient to display other photos or additional artwork in the future.
Like any of the print styles, you’ll still need to make sure your art is appropriately sized for the frame so it doesn’t become distorted or grainy once on display.
Most frames utilize an SD card that you’ll load with art or photo files from your computer. Then, place it into the designated slot on the digital frame, and they’re ready to show off!
Wrap the entire frame as a gift! Alternatively, if the recipient already has a digital frame, just include the updated SD card in a greeting card. It’s a wonderful gift option either way.
RELATED on YinzBuy: Are Digital Photo Frames Worth It?
7. Create a USB file from your digital art for display on a TV
Modern televisions are shipping with USB connections nowadays. Of course, it’s used for hooking up a variety of cables and peripherals, but it’s a great way to display digital art as well. Gift someone your digital art on a USB, and they can display it on their TV.
Simply plug a USB into your computer and copy the art files that you want over. Then, gift the USB stick to your recipient. It’s that simple! I’m a big fan of this 64GB pentode radio tube flash drive we reviewed because of how awesome it looks!
They’ll plug it into the back of their TV, and be able to enjoy your art on the “big screen”. Some TVs even have an ambient mode that displays images when in standby. Your work of art could be adoring the wall when programming isn’t actively being watched. I love it!
8. Convert your digital art to a wallpaper size for smartphone or desktop
In the same vein as displaying on a TV, why not convert your digital art to a smaller size? It’s likely that your gift recipient has a smartphone, tablet, laptop, or desktop computer. By giving your digital art to them in a suitable size, they’ll see it every day.
Since there’s a large variety in phones and tablets in terms of screen size, you’ll want to scale your design appropriately.
An aspect ratio of 16:9 is standard for phone wallpaper (Source) so try to keep your artwork within these confines if this method of gifting is your intent.
The nice thing about gifting digital art this way is that it’s a digital file. I would just email it to my recipient along with a nice message. That’s much cheaper than forking out shipping costs if your giftee lives far away!
9. Turn your digital artwork into an NFT
The last, and probably most unique way we have to give digital art as a gift is in the form of an NFT. This is a much more modern concept that’s probably not suitable for grandma. However, it’s a super cool concept for gifting digital art.
You’ll first need to convert your digital art piece into an NFT. Once it’s been established, then you’ll simply gift the NFT to the intended recipient. Of course, they’ll also need to be registered with their own crypto wallet to receive it.
Who knows, your work of art could become very popular down the road. Then they’ll really thank you for the gift!
Final Thoughts on Digital Art Gifts
With all the different varieties and mediums art takes on nowadays, the ways in which we display and exchange it is ever-evolving. I hope you’ve come away with 9 unique and fun ideas for how to give digital art as a gift.
Check out some of our favorite items to help you on your digital gifting adventures:
Have a friend that loves to decorate their walls with geek décor? Find out if Displate is a good gift for adults as we explore these awesome metal posters!
This Samsung Frame QLED TV, which even has a built-in border to make your display look like a real art piece!
A Familink digital photo frame allows you to share pictures with your loved one from anywhere in the world!
Not feeling artsy? The billion dollar art gallery does the hard work for you, compiling famous works of art onto one easy to plug in USB for your TV!
Make your own digital pixel art right in the frame with the Divoom Pixoo pixel digital art frame
