Had been flipping my canvas horizontally for months before I saw the mistake

I was working on a digital portrait for like 8 hours straight last Tuesday. Everything looked good to me, the shading was smooth, the eyes were lined up. Then I flipped the canvas horizontally just to check and holy cow the left eye was like a full inch higher than the right one. I had been staring at it so long my brain just accepted the wonkiness. Turns out I had been forgetting to flip my canvas every 20 minutes like all the tutorials say. Now I flip it constantly and I catch this stuff way earlier. Has anyone else had that moment where you realize your eye just stops seeing obvious errors?

3 comments

3 Comments

emmaclark24d ago

Flipping the canvas constantly is a game changer. Started setting a timer on my phone for every 15 minutes during my last big piece. Caught a crooked nose before it ruined the whole face. That timer trick saved me so much rework.

the_ruby24d ago

That timer thing is actually smart but I have to wonder does it ever break your flow? I personally just use the mirror trick where I hold my phone up to the canvas and look at the reflection. Spotted a jaw line that looked totally wonky once and fixed it before I went too deep into rendering. The phone reflection catches all kinds of weird stuff your eyes get blind to after staring for too long. Might have to set a timer too though for the next portrait session.

riley_wood8423d ago

Oh man, flipping the canvas is a lifesaver. I had this one time where I spent like six hours on a painting and thought I was killing it. Everything looked perfect, the lighting was nice, the colors were working. Then I flipped it and realized the whole background was tilted at like a 15 degree angle to the left. My brain just accepted it as normal because I had stared at it for so long. Now I do it every 20 minutes no matter what. Also learned to step away for five minutes every hour. That break helps reset my eyes too.