Digital Brushes - What Works & What Doesn't

Digital brushes can be fun and can shake up your approach to a painting. They can keep you excited and prevent plateauing BUT - brushes aren't magic. Be wary of any brush pack claiming to perfectly simulate some traditional media - true artfulness comes from technique and from your hand - not from an .abr file.

Join me for a tutorial on my specific brush technique and a good discussion on all the things that digital brushes can and can't do for us - all while a cool painting takes shape in the background during a very chill 20 minutes.

0:00 - Intro
0:50 - What Brush Are You Using?
4:12 - What Brushes CAN Do For You
6:20 - What Brushes CAN'T Do For you
8:53 - Detailing to Death
11:11 - Artfulness as the Goal
13:49 - Leaving Room for Your Viewer
15:54 - Using This Idea

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PAINT YOUR WORLD
Hardy Fowler is a professional Digital Painter with work seen in productions for Disney, Games Workshop and Neon District among many others.

Hardy's online academy, Digital Painting Studio, teaches the master-level skills, process and mindset he's learned from decades of experience as a professional digital artist.

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[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.

[ImperiusRex]

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.

[Uta-gzjm]

you snap me back to reality with this one

[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.

[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.

[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!

[marks]

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!

[leonor]

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

[jakes.]

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.

[williamruss]

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.

[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.

[owlytedailer-sgcq]

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

[papolone]

You inspire me every time! Thanks man!

[octonolite_]

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.

[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

[rebeccag-xx]

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

[jakeplesheart]

Fantastic video, gorgeous artwork. Thanks Hardy!!

[rexdounut]

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.

[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

[maigle.]

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.