Rant: I used to just slap filters on my art for gallery pages, now I actually tweak lighting and it shows real growth

For years I’d just throw a basic filter over my finished digital pieces and call it good for my online gallery showcase. Last month I watched a tutorial from an artist I follow and realized I was hiding my bad shading behind those filters. Now I spend like 15 minutes adjusting hue and contrast per piece instead of using presets. Has anyone else stopped relying on quick fixes and seen a big jump in their art quality?

2 comments

2 Comments

ninaross2d ago

Did you notice a bigger difference in how your pieces feel after you started tweaking manually? I had the same filter crutch for months until I forced myself to learn color curves (simple but huge payoff). Now it feels like my art actually breathes instead of just looking pretty from a mask.

elizabetht561d ago

Honestly I’ve gone the other way on this. Filters save me so much time and my work still sells fine. I don’t think manually tweaking every little thing makes it breathe more, sometimes it just makes it take forever.