Little nugget of advice that really changed the way I approached painting. When I started blending like this it was a real turning point for my art quality.
Forgot to add that lighting conditions and other variables in a piece make the hardness you want to choose somewhat variable. Drawing things like skin is more of a hardness range than it is a hard rule.
Eheh…get it? Hard rule? (aaaaaaaaaand i’m done).
Haa thanks, I can’t even put into words how unappealing the overuse of a soft brush is when rendering. There have even been otherwise expertly painted images that were (in my opinion) ruined by that overly soft ‘airbrush’-y look that soft edged brushes give off.
I mean, I just really hate soft edged brush in most cases. It’s definitely the fact that you can’t read any real confidence in the brush strokes of a soft edged brush. It makes it really difficult to nail down any solid shapes or forms in your painting. Weak vagueness both in brush strokes and with shape and form is generally not a good thing when painting.
If I can tell a soft edge brush was used (a lot) in an image, I probably won’t like how it’s been applied.
OH MY GOD THIS
especially since when you paint with a hard brush, you can easily go soften areas later, whereas if you start a painting with the soft brush its such a hassle to tighten things up
This is very good point. It gives you a natural advantage.
