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My friend the illustrator called me out on my lazy shading

I was at a coffee shop last Wednesday showing my new digital painting to my buddy Marco (he does concept art for a small game studio). He zoomed in on the shadows I put on a character's face and said 'these are just soft brush blobs, where is your light source?' That hit different because he was right, I had been ghosting through shading for like a year. Has anyone else had a friend point out something obvious you missed in your own work?
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terry_lewis21
Man, that's a tough one but it sounds like your buddy did you a solid. I actually read an article once about how a lot of self-taught artists pick up bad habits without realizing it, like always using a soft brush for shadows because it's easy and looks smooth. It stuck with me because the guy writing it said the most common one he saw was people ignoring where the light was coming from, just like what happened with your painting. So you're not alone in this, a lot of folks get called out for the same thing. Good on Marco for being honest, that kind of feedback is gold even if it stings a little.
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kim191
kim1911mo ago
My friend Dan spent two years painting without ever cleaning his brushes.
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