The day I realized my art was just a filter collage

I spent like 3 years posting digital portraits on here that got decent likes but I always felt like something was off. Then last month a commenter just said "nice filters" and I got so defensive at first. But I looked back at my process and yeah, I was basically just cranking up textures and overlays to hide sloppy linework. The moment it clicked was when I tried to do a piece with zero filters, just raw brush strokes. It looked terrible. That was the sign I needed. Now I'm forcing myself to do 10 sketches a week with nothing but a hard round brush and no fancy blend modes. Anyone else ever realize they were hiding behind effects this whole time?

2 comments

2 Comments

jason_fisher44d ago

The 10 sketches a week thing is exactly what got me out of it. I did 30 days of black and white ink studies with zero texture layers and it was painful at first but my actual drawing skill improved way faster than when I was relying on effects.

the_tara4d ago

36 and this hit me hard. I used to think filters and textures were just part of the style, not a crutch. But you are totally right, once you strip it all away you see what's actually there.