Found an old sketchbook from 2012 and compared it to my current stuff

I was digging through some boxes in my garage last weekend (looking for a fitting I swear I bought last spring) and found a sketchbook full of digital prints I did back in college. The difference in technique is honestly embarrassing. Back then I used default round brushes for everything and relied way too much on airbrushing to cover up mistakes. Now I actually plan out my layers and use texture brushes that mimic real paint strokes. Part of that change is just doing the work every day for 12 years, but I also learned more from watching speedpaints on YouTube than I did from my actual classes. The biggest thing I notice is how afraid I was of hard edges in 2012 versus now where I lean into them. Has anyone else gone back to look at their early digital art and felt that weird mix of cringe and pride?

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2 Comments

grant5694d ago

Did you read that essay by James Gurney about how beginners sometimes have better instinct for composition because they don't overthink it? @reese551 that looseness thing makes me wonder if we trade some spontaneity for polish as we get better. I've seen a few artists talk about purposely blocking in shapes with big brushes first to trick themselves back into that mindset.

reese5514d ago

but see I actually kind of miss the looseness of my old stuff even if the technique was worse. there's a rawness to those early pieces that I've been trying to get back but can't now that I know all the "rules." maybe that fear of hard edges was just a different kind of confidence.