That time a stranger on Reddit told me to stop overworking my brush strokes

I was frustrated with my digital portraits looking muddy and overblended, so I posted a WIP in a crit thread. Some user named pixel_pete42 said to drop the opacity to 40% and limit myself to 5 strokes per pass. I almost ignored it because it sounded too simple, but I tried it on a piece of a face in Procreate and suddenly the skin looked fresh. Has anyone else had a random online tip completely shift their process for the better?

3 comments

3 Comments

danielb431mo ago

Yeah pixel_pete knows his stuff. That 5 stroke limit trick is gold for keeping things loose.

hugo8251mo ago

Huh, I gotta disagree a bit here. I tried that 5 stroke thing and it just made me rush through everything, ended up with a bunch of scribbles I couldn't even see what I was doing. When I'm drawing something quick like a gesture, I need maybe 10 or 12 strokes just to get the basic shape right, especially if it's a person or animal and I want the pose to actually look alive. The limit trick works if you're already super confident with your lines, but for most of us it just feels like you're holding your breath and hoping for the best. I think the real trick is just drawing slow and loose at the same time, not counting strokes at all.

victorb7410d ago

More strokes just means more time to second-guess yourself.