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everyone is using tools, what makes an artist is the outcome, if a graphic designer is capable of producing art then he is an artist, if he is not capable, then he is not an artist, he'll be more like a technician.
however, defining art, can be troublesome, I used to teach graphic design software, some fresh students (trainees) considered themselves artists as soon as they were able to invert colors of an image, or made a basic 3D model... go figure.
Yes - if they are using different set of tools to create a beautiful piece of work from an Idea they have