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My old digital art process was a total mess until I switched things up | Digital Art Showcase - nhfree.com

My old digital art process was a total mess until I switched things up

For the longest time, I would just open my software and start drawing with no plan, which meant I redid layers constantly. About six months ago, I watched a stream from an artist named Loish where she showed her full thumbnail sketch phase. Now I spend a solid 30 minutes blocking in 5 or 6 tiny composition ideas before I even touch my main canvas. It saves me hours of fixing things later because I solve the big problems when they're small. Has anyone else had a specific workflow change that made your art process way smoother?

3 comments

3 Comments

terrym457mo ago

Oh man, I feel this so much. My old process was basically just diving in headfirst and hoping for the best, which led to so much frustration. For me, the game changer was finally learning to use proper layer groups and naming them something clear, not just "Layer 23 copy 3." It sounds stupid simple, but taking two seconds to label a layer "hair highlights" instead of leaving it a mess saved my sanity. I wasted so much time before, hunting for the right layer to fix.

foster.patricia6mo ago

Yeah, "Layer 23 copy 3" is the digital version of just throwing all your tools in one bucket. My fix was setting a dumb rule for myself: I can't start painting on a new layer until I've named the last one. Even if it's just "blue shadow test," it stops the total chaos.

amy_carr57mo ago

Tell me about it, I used to have folders just called "stuff" and "more stuff" like that was helpful at all lol. I'd open a file from last month and spend twenty minutes just clicking through layers trying to find the one stupid line that was out of place. The day I started naming a layer "left eyebrow" instead of "Layer 57" felt like I'd unlocked some secret genius level of art.