Honestly, I was stuck on painting skin tones for months until I tried something dumb

Ngl, I kept trying to mix perfect colors from scratch and my portraits looked flat. Last week, I just grabbed a photo of a real face and used the color picker tool on a shadow area to get the base. I painted over it with my own brush, but that first stolen color gave me a real starting point. Has anyone else found a simple trick that broke a big art block for them?

3 comments

3 Comments

noah_webb1mo ago

Oh man, that reminds me of when I couldn't draw hands. I just traced my own in weird positions for a week straight lol. Felt like cheating but it actually worked.

john_singh1mo ago

Nah, I gotta disagree on that being cheating. Tracing is just another way to learn how things are put together. It's like using training wheels before you can ride on your own. You're still teaching your brain to see the shapes and angles. How else are you supposed to get the basics down?

fiona_lane23d ago

Tracing hands is basically drawing with training wheels on.