Creating Digital Artwork

My process for creating digital art is isn’t terribly unlike that of traditional art. As always, it starts with an idea. As the idea develops, I create preliminary “thumbnail” (small) sketches to establish key elements and explore different compositions (layouts).

Once I’m happy with a sketch, I can recreate it full size and start to refine it. Those key elements start to take shape and I can finalize the composition.

Then even more details are added. Color, lighting, and shadows are fine-tuned. And then? I stop. I close my drawing app and wait a day. Fresh eyes are always better at spotting mistakes, inconsistencies, and other improvements needed.

Once I’m happy with the piece… just kidding. I’m never completely happy with a piece. What is it they say? “You never finish a piece of art, you just stop working on it.” So once I’ve stopped working on a piece, I share it on social media, add it to my portfolio, and have prints made for local retailers and art shows.