During the production stage of the book, you may find that working digitally is of interest. This is in no way a requirement, as it is absolutely possible to do all work physically. There are both benefits and drawbacks when using digital tools. Benefits include: the ability to iterate and save different versions; being able to reproduce a spread or an entire book without remaking the artwork; prepping a really great book for a publisher; using the precision of a graphic design program such as Adobe Illustrator or Affinity Designer; manipulating photographic or pixel art using programs like Adobe Photoshop or Affinity Photo; and being able to do spread layout with programs like Adobe InDesign or Affinity Publisher.
Drawbacks include: the added expense of technology; training in the use of software; and quality printing paper and ink that looks beautiful, professional, and works well when folded and glued.
A hybrid use of digital technology is to create much of your work with traditional media, scan it, manipulate it as necessary, print, cut and assemble into your final book.
Using digital tools is only worth it if the output is of the highest quality. Make sure to work with high resolution images and print with a high DPI so that your work remains crisp and clear. Typical print quality is 600dpi or larger. However, if you post your art online (such as on social media), be sure to also save low resolution versions at ~72dpi so the images will load at a reasonable speed, and people can't download print quality versions for themselves.
