Why Does my Sketch Look Better Than the Finished Art? (& How To Fix That)

We've all been there, where the more we ink, color, and render our art, the further it drops in quality from that original sketch. Why is that, and how can we fix it? These are the 4 reasons and solutions I've seen commonplace with my students and beginning artists alike.

[blueblurguy]

I've had a theory on this for a while now. One thought is that that because the sketch is usually so "messy", the viewer's standards or expectation is lower so flaws are easier to ignore and overlook. Another theory I've had was that because there are so many lines on top of each other that represent a single line, I think our brain picks how it wants to average those lines when you look at them and mentally renders it how it thinks things would best look to it. A sketch is just a flexible, visual idea of a finished drawing.

[musicbyalexYT]

"Especially newer artists tend to associate clean art with good art."

I've been dealing with this kind of problem for so long.

[slinkyatrest]

This put such a fine point on things I wanted to curl up in a ball and cry

[RadenWA]

For me shading is really the part that completely changes the picture, the sketch looks good in 2D then you add volume to it and suddenly every single mistake pops out and you regret ever thinking the sketch were good

[dreamwolf]

My issue is a disconnect between what my brain wants to do, and what my hands actually do...

Brain: I see a wolf, with *very detailed description*

Hands: K, i drew a stick with a blob on one end.

[linkno]

Simple practice plays a part too.

I get frustrated when an inked image doesn't look as good as my pencil sketches, but on the other hand I don't always ink images. I actually quite rarely do it in comparison to how much I actually draw with a pencil, a contributing factor probably being that they don't usually look as good...Leading into that cycle of: doesn't look as good > so I don't ink > so I don't practice > so they don't look as good.

On the surface using a pen to ink a pencil sketch probably seems like the exact same skillset to many, but they're two different tools that whilst certain skills transfer they still have their own unique elements you need practice with.

[OfelieArt]

Literally was asking myself that the other day but never got around to looking into it

[balvarez]

Love the idea of keeping the sketch, but cleaning it out. Im always afraid of inking it. I got into that mindset of "first I sketch, then I clean, ink, paint, render, etc." Thanks for the insight!

[ArtOfShannonLee]

I totally agree! Last year I was so obsessed with trying to mimic clean line and colouring styles, even vector-like styles. I have realized that it was a mistake for me to try to push myself in that direction because what I like about my work, and what others appear to also like, is that it is more free than that. The work I find most pleasing to look at tends to be soft like old school Disney, and that is so sketchy that the construction lines are often even left in to help show the forms (a great example is the Aristocats). I am glad that I learned some different skills from trying out some clean styles because versatility is something I want as an artist but I'm also glad that I've realized that, as you said, clean doesn't equal good. My work is so much better now that I've loosened up again. :)

[Theyungcity]

4:12 yeah sometimes you even see that with professional comic book artists who have a sketchy style that th e colorist is trying too hard to clean up and it ruins it.

[poposao]

I was having this issue yesterday, I ended up choosing to keep working on the "sketch" until it was a complete drawing with some roughness to the lines.

[michaeljohn]

whenever I draw, my sketches tend to look more organic in comparison to the finished art which looks pretty stiff.

[rebelangel]

OMG!!! i thought i was the only one that loved my sketches better than the final

[fbypxtt]

all these years i thought I was the only one with that thought about my sketches looking better. thank you!

[aloelansart]

Y'know, I never thought about this but... It's true. Recently I've tried to stray away from the skethcing, lining, colouring etc pattern process and tried to shake it up by blocking in colours before emphasizing details and now I think I'll shake it up even more by using my sketch in my final pieces!

[vixxcelacea]

I've always wondered while even professional sketches always looked more interesting to me than their clean professional works.

Basically, if you do ink, unless it's meant to be super clean as part as the aesthetic of the image, don't be afraid to make it a little messy and more faithful to the sketch stage.
I will try to clean up my sketch by inking over it, but being sure to not be too clean if the sketch itself looked good messy and see if that works for me.

This all depends on the final product. Always a good idea to keep an original of your sketch if you liked it and try messing with it again. Because it sucks when you erased too much when you like certain parts.
I definitely fell into the trap of clean lines equals good art.

[kingpen]

Brookes, if I may call you by your first name, I have watched your videos for a while now. I just wanted to say thank you for your wisdom, both related to art and the life of an artist, and also I love how you remind us to, "Have fun creating." This is an important thing for every artist of every level to remind themselves to do, for I know how easy it is to get caught up in trying to be technically flawless that we forget how fun it can be to just create!

[littleblueclovers]

Just subbed after seeing this.
I almost never posted my work online (a hobby of mine) for the past few years because this issue had been weighing down on me.

[ryagumon]

I gotta say, i've been following for a while now and a huge chunk of your vids are saved into my favorites to refer to later and honestly they've helped me a ton. Ya know never really stop growing as an artist and these videos are really making that process fun and exploratory. Thank you.

[pixeledcherry]

I've been binge watching all your videos the past few days. They are so helpful! I struggle with a lot of the problems mentioned in some of your videos, and they've helped a lot! I've had one character for almost 8 years now, and the past 2 years I've really been getting into designing her. I just want to say thanks for all the lovely tips in your videos!