Honestly shocked by how many layers some pro digital pieces have

Ngl, I was watching a stream from an artist I follow on Twitch, and they opened the file for a character portrait. I expected maybe 30, 40 layers tops. Tbh, the count was over 200. It blew my mind. They had separate layers just for different shades of blush on the cheeks and tiny light reflections in the eyes. I always grouped big things like hair or clothes into one layer. Seeing them break it down that much, with a layer for 'glow effect 3% opacity' and stuff, was a game changer. Found out they do it for maximum edit flexibility later. Has anyone else seen a pro workflow up close and been surprised by a specific detail like that?

4 comments

4 Comments

robin6282mo ago

Wow, my buddy showed me his file for a simple background once and I swear it had a layer for every single leaf on one stupid plant. He said he could change the color of the whole thing in two clicks later, but watching him scroll through that mess made my head hurt. Makes you wonder if all that setup just moves the hard work to the start instead of the end, right?

jackson.faith2mo ago

Is all that extra work even worth it for a single portrait? I get wanting to edit stuff later, but 200 layers sounds like a great way to get lost in your own file. Honestly, I feel like some artists just get stuck in the process and forget about finishing the actual piece.

wood.eric2mo agoTop Commenter

Yeah it's like what @robin628 said, people get so into making the perfect system they forget to just do the thing lol.

gibson.avery1mo ago

Honestly, 200 layers is wild. Tbh it just sounds like a way to avoid making real choices. I get wanting flexibility, but at some point you gotta commit to a color or a shadow and move on. That scrolling mess would kill my flow completely.