Went to the new digital art exhibit at the city museum and one piece made me think about my own work

They had this huge screen showing a time-lapse of a digital painting being made, and I saw the artist used only three main layers for the whole thing. I always make like twenty layers for a simple portrait, so it made me wonder if I'm overcomplicating my process. Do you guys stick to a low layer count or do you just keep adding them as you go?

3 comments

3 Comments

king.lisa26d ago

Feel your pain, my layer count is a disaster too.

hugow3011d ago

My old art teacher in college had this rule, you could only use the undo button three times per drawing. It sounds crazy but it made you really sure about each line. I still panic when my layer count goes past twenty on a simple sketch. That five layer method sounds like the digital version of his old school torture.

olivery2626d ago

I read an interview with a concept artist who said they try to finish a piece in under five layers. They use one for the sketch, one for flat colors, one for lighting, and two for extra details and fixes. It forces you to make decisions early instead of just hiding problems in new layers. I tried it and my work got a lot cleaner, even if it was harder at first. @king.lisa, maybe we both need to try merging some layers down.