My mentor swore by low opacity layers for skin shading - I fought him for 6 months before I caved

So I had this guy I look up to, he's been doing digital portraits for like 15 years. He kept telling me to drop my brush opacity to 15-20% when doing skin tones and layer up slowly. I thought he was crazy because I loved that punchy 100% opaque look. But after 6 months of getting flat skin tones that looked like plastic, I finally tried his way on a commission piece last Tuesday. The difference was insane - suddenly my character's skin had this natural warmth and depth I'd been chasing forever. Now I'm wondering if I wasted a whole year being stubborn. Has anyone else ignored advice from a veteran artist and later regretted how long it took you to listen?

3 comments

3 Comments

brooket4313d agoMost Upvoted

The older I get, the more I realize those veterans usually have a reason for the things they push on us. It took me forever to accept that sometimes technique matters more than just raw effort. Sounds like you had to eat a big slice of humble pie to get there, but at least you got there in the end. That six month fight taught you a lesson you won't ever have to learn again.

stellat4613d ago

Fought him for 6 months" - oof. Been there. Stubborn pride hurts the art most.

theajohnson13d ago

Wasted a whole year going back and forth with my old bassist over a bridge section that needed three extra bars. Kept telling him it would make the whole thing breathe better but he was dead set on sticking to the original arrangement. Ended up scrapping the entire song and it still haunts me when I hear that demo we cut. The weird thing is we both knew the other was right but neither of us would blink first. Stubborn pride really does kill more good ideas than bad ones ever could.