My early digital paintings were just me messing with filters and calling it art

I used to just throw a photo into Photoshop, run a bunch of filters, and post it like I made something. About 6 months ago, I watched a tutorial on layering brushes and realized I had zero clue what I was doing. Now I actually sketch, block in colors, and blend by hand instead of relying on auto-fixes. Has anyone else had that moment where they looked back at their old stuff and cringed about how they were cheating?

2 comments

2 Comments

jamie_taylor1mo ago

Ha, I've still got a folder of those somewhere that I'm definitely not showing anyone.

rileyl981mo ago

My first "digital painting" was literally a selfie run through the oil paint filter with fake canvas texture slapped on top. I had the gall to post it as a portrait study. That folder you mentioned Jamie, mines labeled '00s cringe' and it lives in the deepest subfolder on my external drive where no one will ever find it. I still feel a little shame every time I see the brush tool now.