Appreciation post: I used a free brush pack for a portrait and got a weird texture I actually love

I was working on a digital portrait last week and decided to try a free 'grunge' brush set from a forum. Instead of the rough edges I expected, it gave this smooth, almost oily texture to the skin tones that looked totally wrong at first. After staring at it for an hour, I realized it created a cool, painterly effect I never would have tried on purpose. Do you think using 'wrong' tools accidentally can lead to better art, or should you stick to what you know works?

3 comments

3 Comments

cameronmurray18d ago

Ever tried the wrong pen for a perfect line?

juliaross18d ago

Totally get what you mean about the "wrong" tools. I used a flat brush for blending once by mistake and it gave me this cool, streaky look I still use. Sometimes the best tricks come from happy accidents.

jake1897d ago

Yeah, that streaky look is a solid save. Makes me wonder how many other "wrong" tools we use without even knowing. Like @cameronmurray's pen thing, what specific pen was it? A ballpoint on marker paper, or something else? I'm trying to picture the line quality.