Digital Brushes - What Works & What Doesn't

[@alp_elber]

At the beginning of the pandemic, I made two purchases that have changed my life for the better: a graphic tablet and a course from you on Udemy. I am now celebrating my first anniversary in the video game industry as an environment concept artist, and I finally feel fulfilled. I want to thank you, Hardy, for the incredible impact you've had on my life. Your teaching approach has influenced how I think about the concept art journey from the very beginning, and it still does even after three years. Thank you for all your effort.

[@FelineFurKin]

So cool that you’ve got into the field. I watched a few of his courses too and have done watercolour, mostly, as a hobby, and found digital art tricky, but my health has been in the way, so it’s taking a while. Good for you 🎉

[@fowlerillus]

Yo! That is fantastic. This is the news I live to hear as a teacher. When an artist gets that break they deserve and gets their career launched. I need to setup some kind of bell to ring whenever that happens - it just makes me so happy. Congratulations and I hope you have enjoyed year one :) Thanks for telling me this - seriously

[@nicholasmayrand605]

literal dream, congrats man!

[@Uta-gz7jm]

you snap me back to reality with this one

[@fowlerillus]

Glad it was helpful :)

[@ImperiusRex74]

I just listened to this video while working on a painting. Trying your approach to painting with low opacity/flow and slowly sculpting made a world of difference. You really are THE best digital art teacher on this platform. Thank you.

[@fowlerillus]

I'm so glad that was helpful. Thanks! That's super kind of you.

[@waldhari_art7472]

He is, I can only thumb up this comment !

[@NickTerryArt]

A+ stuff as always, Hardy. Learning to leave tertiary details impressionistic and loose is such a win-win. A better final piece AND it saves time and effort?? Game changer.

[@fowlerillus]

Thanks Nick! Totally - that's the best part - it's easier AND looks better!

[@RamyAmr.m]

2:26 I was paying attention to this since the beginning of the video and was so relieved when you actually mentioned it. I've been keeping flow and opacity at 100% and trying to learn painting with only pressure opacity (regardless of brush shape) as many artists recommended, but it was SO frustrating.

[@fowlerillus]

I'm glad this was helpful! Control is everything, so why not make it easier? :) Thanks

[@marks2708]

Oh my. One of the most incredibly informative painting videos I've ever watched. Really gonna change the way I paint from now on. Thank you so much. Would love a much longer video on this topic of brushes!

[@fowlerillus]

I'm so glad this was helpful! Good to know - I definitely have plenty to talk about on that topic.

[@AdrianMichaelMulryan]

great vid as usual! as a matte painter we have to add detail everywhere, which makes the image flat and boring, in post they add life and focus through depth of field, motion blur etc, I take that thought process into my personal work, enough detail so the viewer isnt bored, but not so much they are distracted from the focal point, saves a lot of time and stops me getting bored of my own paintings!

[@fowlerillus]

That's so cool to get the perspective of a matte painter - I had never considered how this would apply differently to different disciplines so I'm so glad you left this comment. It sounds like the general ideas still apply but it's more of a team effort which is really cool. Thanks for this!

[@owlytedailer-sg5cq]

I feel like a Shaolin monk when I watch any of your videos, filled with wisdom and peace

[@fowlerillus]

Thank you. I really appreciate it and I'm so glad you're enjoying these.

[@leonor7474]

I have an addiction to brushes, my collection is really big. When I saw you have freebies I just downloaded without thinking.

[@georgex231]

same here.. maybe i have 200 sets in my external disc right now

[@fowlerillus]

Haha, sounds like a harmless guilty pleasure :) I got veerrry carried away when I discovered custom shapes - that folder is a mess!

[@jakes.2919]

Thank you, as always, for another great video. I found myself at a similar point where I thought artists made great work in spite of visible brush strokes rather than because of them, so to hear I alone didn't make that mistake is comforting.

[@fowlerillus]

I'm so glad that this resonated :)

[@papolone]

You inspire me every time! Thanks man!

[@fowlerillus]

Thank you!

[@rebeccag-x2x]

I was trying to figure out which brushes I should use yesterday, this could not have been better timing

[@fowlerillus]

Perfect - I'm glad this was helpful!

[@williamruss1603]

Thank you for this video. I really put so much detail with my digital paintings, and yeah they look stale at some point so I have to go back and repaint a few more times to make it less stale. It wastes time and its frustrating but I used to do a ton of detailed pencil work before I started painting. That might be where the habit formed. I just saw you have classes and I am going to look further into those. Thank you again.

[@fowlerillus]

It's so weirdly counterintuitive but it does seem to be one of those truisms. A tricky thing to navigate though. I'm happy to help with any class related questions you might have. Feel free to reach out to our contact us email if you'd like to chat.

[@jakeplesheart4537]

Fantastic video, gorgeous artwork. Thanks Hardy!!

[@fowlerillus]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@glyfleball]

I just found your channel Hardy, and that part about how a painting could be dead already if you’re lost in the pixels kinda hit HARD because I’ve only recently discovered how some of the best artists I follow do indeed keep it loose. They refine areas yes but even in the cleanest parts there is always that Impressionist brush work. I look forward to watching more of your vids while I work on my own paintings 👍. I’m even actively trying to correct that over cleanliness in my own current painting because I recognize it’s why I’m never happy with my portrait work haha

[@fowlerillus]

I'm so glad this resonated. That lost in the pixels point really helped me once I was conscious of it. Thanks for letting me know and good luck with your artwork!

[@oscarchavezart]

I always get a piece or more from every video I watch from the grandmaster artists here on youtube. But these videos are some of the best in my opinion because of the tranqulity they have. I retain more information and leave with the feeling of "All will be gold and serene." So long as I keep working, getting better and being known by others that I exist.

[@fowlerillus]

That is awesome to hear. That's exactly what I hope for with these and I'm really glad that the information and the vibe are helpful and pleasant. Thank you :)

[@shaddouida3447]

​@@fowlerillus Marvel's Spider-Man 2 Open-World Game Marvel's Spider-Man 3 Open-World Game Marvel's Spider-Gwen Open-World Game Marvel's Venom Open-World Game Marvel's Black Cat Open-World Game

[@shaddouida3447]

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[@shaddouida3447]

​@@fowlerillus These DC Characters Deserve Video Games Next DC's Wonder Woman Open-World Game DC's Superman Open-World Game DC's Batman Open-World Game DC's Gotham knights Open-World Game DC's Gotham City Sirens Open-World Game DC's Teen Titans Open-World Game DC's Birds of Prey Open-World Game DC's Green Lantern Open-World Game DC's Aquaman Open-World Game DC's Flash Open-World Game DC's Green Arrow Open-World Game DC's Catwoman Open-World Game DC's Deathstroke Open-World Game DC's Shazam Open-World Game DC's Zatanna Open-World Game DC's Batgirl Open-World Game DC's Nightwing Open-World Game DC's Supergirl Open-World Game DC's Constantine Open-World Game DC's Justice League Open-World Game DC's Harley Quinn Open-World Game DC's Blue Beetle Open-World Game DC's Batman Beyond Open-World Game DC's Batwoman Open-World Game DC's Swamp Thing Open-World Game DC's Plastic Man Open-World Game DC's Static Open-World Game DC's Cyborg Open-World Game

[@octonolite_0]

Thanks for this tutorial, Hardy. I've definitely needed something like this. I know what you mean about looking at tutorials and wishing you could see the brush settings (even as I've watched your courses). Instructors rarely go deep into that stuff because it's more a matter of preference, I guess. This is really helpful.

[@fowlerillus]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks :)

[@FyreHeartStudios]

Thank you, Hardy. I appreciate you!

[@fowlerillus]

My pleasure! Thanks

[@maigle.4136]

I'm at that point of making a portfolio to get into the concept art industry. I've been trying for almost a year now to get a job, and everyone tells me it is difficult and to be patient, so I spend hours trying to make the best portfolio ever. And I do make a lot of details with the zoom to maximum and my friends and people that have seen my work say that what they like is that amount of detail and rendering I can achieve. So seeing this video makes me think that maybe I should find new friends 😂. They have also noticed that since I started doing your character/concept art courses I have improved a lot, so I wanted to thank you for sharing your knowledge. I have learned a lot and I feel more motivated to keep working.

[@fowlerillus]

Thanks and I'm glad those courses have been helpful. I'm not sure if my advice about detail is necessarily right or applies to your style or work but this was definitely an inflection point in my development that seemed to make good things happen for my career so I hope it can work for you. With every new trick I learn, I make sure not to let it replace my current style or approach but just to add to it - one more arrow in the quiver - I hope this idea can do that for you. Good luck!

[@shavp]

I cant overstate just how big of an impact watching your videos has had on my art I had no idea just how powerful the chalk brush was until I saw your videos, but now I know that it is way better than using an airbrush when it comes to creating realistic looking characters because as you said if art is too perfect it ends up looking very fake in the end. Ironically, this is a trap that a lot of the AI art that I see online fall into lol In my experience a brush with some texture always gives better results compared to soft airbrush brush, but anyways thanks Hardy Fowler for making me a way better digital artist

[@fowlerillus]

Awesome! I'm so glad that this was helpful and timely. Thanks for your kind words :)

[@kitsuunami]

One of the most aked questions i get when doing live paint demonstrations is what brush am i using. Their faces when i answer, 'the Photoshop round default' is priceless 🙃

[@fowlerillus]

Haha - I love that :)

[@Nierez]

Would've loved to see that portfolio

[@fowlerillus]

I'll have to dig some of those pieces up and do a fun look back :)

[@2creates1]

Awesome!!! valuable video as well thanks

[@fowlerillus]

Great! I'm glad this was helpful. Thanks

[@AbsoluteUNIT000]

Love ur work, can u make a tutorial how to make a concept art where a small character standing in front looking back at big scary character with different lightings and variations in scene?

[@fowlerillus]

Thanks! That sounds like an awesome idea. Will do!

[@angelojayproductions]

Excellent video again! Thank you!. I recently discovered your 33,33,25 settings on brushes and it's changing how I draw, what I'm struggling with though is how you achieve Lights and Darks with the same colour and same brush. I don't seem to understand how you are able to get brighter values and Darker ones with pen pressure only, I seem to be missing something you're doing. Do you discuss it in any of your videos?

[@fowlerillus]

I can definitely help with that. So what these screencasts can't really capture is that I am tapping the stylus repeatedly. When I go from a dark value to a light value, it is because I have tapped the stylus dozens of times to layer the tones and gradually build them up. Pen pressure only affects the size of the brush tip shape. This is nice though because it lets me needle in small marks by tapping softly. I know that helps but please let me know if that needs further clarification.

[@SylvesterLazarus]

"For the most part the brush that you make or at least fine tune yourself ends up working the best for you." It took me wayyy too long to realize that after trying to find the best brush with the best workflow and the best settings for years.. Ever since, I always tell people that once they get into how to make brushes they will stop asking "What brush should I use?" and instead they will ask "What do I want my brush to do?"

[@fowlerillus]

I love this - that totally sums it up.

[@PandoxLp]

Hey Hardy, I really discovered that some acrylic paint brushes I bought do work great but you have to use a really big canvas so that the Brush texture is sharp so I always use 8000xXXXX Pixel and 300dpi and that really changed the sharpness of the texture because I can use Brushes between 20-400 Pixels in Size and they always look sharp 😃 - ofcourse the pc someone works on needs to handle the canvas size haha

[@fowlerillus]

Good to know! So bizarre how much brush and canvas size can affect all of the dynamics. Glad you are doing cool things with those brushes.

[@rexdounut7069]

8:34 I know that's pretty obvious. But for some reason hearing that sentencis let my eyes lit up. It kinda showed me how much more i care about my paintngs as a personal form of art than i thought.

[@fowlerillus]

I'm glad that resonated :)

[@dayanapierce8467]

I really felt pointed out when you talk about your portfolio with great details but lifeless rendering. I love details, and I put a lot of them in my art but I feel no heart in it, and it hurt me a lot, I didn't want to draw anymore. So thank you for your advice it helped me a lot

[@fowlerillus]

I'm so glad. Yeah, we are definitely alike in that and it has been hard to try to let go of detail (just a bit) but it really does seem to have helped in recent years. It also helps me avoid that feeling of being stuck noodling a pixel at a time - all of the life just goes out of a painting when I do that so trying to keep things loose is a good goal. Definitely easier said than done for me though!

[@dayanapierce8467]

@@fowlerillus Thank you for answering and thanks for your video. I also forced myself to not zoom a lot to not be too focused on details, and with your advice I already saw a great improvement ! Ty again 😊

[@ALLISMIND]

I think its important to remind people that Craig Mullins (which is a master in art) is using only the round hard brush, which is the most basic brush you can use. Yet his art is stellar

[@fowlerillus]

Awesome to hear this. He is such a legend, I never knew that about him.

[@ALLISMIND]

@@fowlerillusYes I watched a lot of his courses and painting processes, he rarely uses anything other than the basic round brush, funny thing is he rarely even uses a soft one. But obviously when you zoom in it just looks like a crazy mess :D

[@marks2708]

Hardy. That younger self, zooming in to 300% and detailing to death, that's me. I've been trying with every project to stay zoomed out but it's really really hard a habit to break. I need help. Can you please advise or make a video around this topic?

[@fowlerillus]

That would make a great video. And to be clear, I definitely zoom in some but I do try to limit that - I just always end up losing sight of the broader picture when I spend too much time needling in detail. I guess the thing that helps me with that is the knowledge that if I'm zoomed in closer than 100%, it likely won't be very visible and certainly won't be meaningful for your viewer. The more I think about big shapes, the better the results tend to be.

[@flyingwind66]

coming from a traditional watercolour background, I've never found the "watercolour brushes" I've seen ever imitate watercolour in a way that actually looks like watercolour

[@fowlerillus]

I completely agree and I find that to be true with most brushes designed to simulate traditional media. They usually just amount to a stamp that looks like a single realistic mark but it doesn't really feel much like actually painting tone. There are apps other than photoshop that really focus on that traditional simulation and they look like they may do a better job with this - I haven't really checked any out though :)

[@gurf7001]

Hi Hardy, Got a question in regards to your initial value pass. I've noticed sometimes at first it looks like there's not a super strong light source and, it at least seems like, you are focusing on the ambient occlusion between forms to get a realistic render before darkening areas that are more in shadow, adding cast shadows over the whole figure and adding rim lighting... Is that about right or do you always have a clear idea about the light direction before even starting the light red/orange value phase? Getting into digital art I've tried a similar value sculpting style but working in the opposite, from light to dark to try and recreate graphite on paper, but I think it would be intuitive to work dark to light as you do, painting with light instead of shadow if you will.

[@fowlerillus]

Such a great question. I definitely set out with a lighting scheme in mind and I try to achieve it on my first attempt. BUT things don't always go perfectly the first try so I end up pivoting and doing things like adding multiply layers to try and get more dramatic lighting etc. So the answer is sort of both. I think you can definitely have success going from light to dark or vice versa (or even middle out) so I would encourage you to try both but don't feel like either one is the only right way. Thanks for the great question

[@jancarsonweatherby1579]

Yeah... still looking for that Freebies channel...

[@fowlerillus]

It should be visible in the Information category near the top of the channel stack. It's right above the welcome channel - let me know if you aren't seeing it

[@masharibart]

nope, can't find ​@@fowlerillus

[@bogdanvasile5460]

I want to get into making concept art in Photoshop, but I got a question regarding tablets: I've been using a regular Wacom Intuos S for 3D. Do I necessarily need a display tablet for digital painting? Or can it be done just as good with a regular tablet?

[@fowlerillus]

Great question. Regarding equipment - it pretty much entirely depends on your preference, there aren't many actually requirements. I don't use a display tablet personally. I have a desktop iMac and a Wacom Intuos Pro and I've used that same basic setup for many years and it works beautifully. As long as you have some kind of pressure sensitivity and a stylus, use any setup that feels comfortable and you can get results you'll like.

[@bogdanvasile5460]

@@fowlerillus I see, thank you! 💪🏻

[@roiichi6258]

The discord link is expired or the server is full I can't join

[@fowlerillus]

Sorry about that! You can join through the DPS website if you'd like www.digitalpaintingstudio.com/community

[@GRAF11113]

😍

[@fowlerillus]

🤘

[@danielanairnalayza6983]

I looooove your advices and tutorials.. but the part of ''too much detail'' makes me think son BO CHEN .... his speed painting videos are filled with details... and he just makes it seem like more is more

[@fowlerillus]

Thanks! There are definitely exceptions to this and detail can be incredibly interesting and beautiful in its own right. That's one thing I love about art is there is never just one "right" way for anything :) I need to check out Bo Chen - thanks!

[@danielanairnalayza6983]

@@fowlerillus

[@maximali6718]

Hey Hardy, I noticed you always tag your videos with #fakeittillyoumakeit and I am interested in behind the intention why you tag videos with that tag?

[@fowlerillus]

Honestly, I had forgotten about that! I copied tags from a previous video but the idea is that artists have to put forward an impression of professionalism even if they are not yet technically professional in order to be hired. Fake it 'till you make it :)

[@grusome3141]

I never gatekeep brushes, I find it flattering people ask, I get curious how someone else uses the same brush

[@fowlerillus]

Agree 100%

[@grusome3141]

@@fowlerillus their so worried their going to copy their work or something, they can have the same brush but they don't have my ideas, or see details that I notice while working, plus it is funny when people find out it's a brush that comes with the program lol

[@georgex231]

in what canvas dimensions do you work generally and what resolution @Hardy Fowler??

[@fowlerillus]

Hi! Usually around 16x9 at 300dpi or roughly 4K resolution. That varies a bit depending on the subject but that's about right for what I usually work on.

[@georgex231]

@@fowlerillus what means 16x9???

[@fowlerillus]

@@georgex231 sorry! I should have clarified 16x9 inches at 300 dpi. Pixel dimensions are 3840x2160