My mentor told me to stop over-blending my textures... he was right

A few months back, I was working on this big digital painting for a portfolio piece, spending like 3 hours just smoothing out every edge on a rock texture. My old art teacher, Mr. Chen, came over my shoulder and said "You're killing your own work, leave some grit in there." I thought he was nuts at first, because I'd always aimed for that super polished, airbrushed look. But I tried his advice on the next section, just laying down rough brush strokes and letting some of the hard edges stay. The final piece had way more life and depth than my usual stuff, and it actually got me a freelance gig. Has anyone else had a teacher or mentor give you advice that felt wrong but turned out to be gold?

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taylorb944mo ago

Yeah that bit about "leaving some grit" really hits home for me. I had a similar moment with my first oil painting instructor, she kept telling me to "let the brush fight back" and I thought she meant I was being too aggressive or something. Turns out she was talking about embracing those unintentional marks and stray strokes that happen when you work fast, because they add a kind of energy that overworking destroys. Now I actually keep a few of my ugliest brushes on purpose just so they leave that rough texture behind, it forces me to leave things alone instead of endlessly smoothing.

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jamiegreen4mo ago

Ngl the real grit comes from painting with a brush you hate. Total game changer.

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