Why does nobody talk about how long it takes to actually finish a digital art piece

Last week I spent 12 hours on a single character illustration and barely got the shading right on the face. Does anyone else feel like the polish stage takes longer than the entire sketch and coloring combined?

3 comments

3 Comments

jessem5915d ago

Yeah I spent like 14 hours on one character last week and still had to call the eyes done because I couldn't look at it anymore. The polishing stage is basically a black hole where time disappears and you start second guessing every brush stroke you ever made. At this point I just tell people my art is "loose and expressive" when really I just ran out of patience.

emmaking15d ago

Oh man, that "loose and expressive" line hits way too close to home! I think you're being a little hard on yourself though - 14 hours on one character is actually pretty normal for digital art. Like, I spent almost that long just trying to get a hand to look right last week and ended up making it look like a weird claw. But seriously, the eyes thing is real. They're the hardest part to just walk away from because they stare at you judging your life choices. At least when you call it "loose and expressive" it sounds intentional instead of saying "I gave up and threw some random brush strokes at it.

ray_sullivan15d agoMost Upvoted

Taking a break for 20 minutes and coming back fresh saved my butt on a similar piece. I'd been staring at a nose for two hours, convinced it was crooked, then realized it was the highlight layer being slightly off. Stepping away just lets you see the obvious stuff you've been zoomed in on. Also flipping the canvas horizontally, that trick catches all the weird proportions your brain got used to. Nothing like seeing your work backwards to make you go "oh, that arm is way too long.