Tried a new brush pack for a portrait and got a weird texture I didn't expect

I was working on a digital painting and used a 'wet media' brush set I got for free. It left this grainy, almost paper-like finish on the skin tones that I actually ended up liking. Has anyone else had a brush completely change the feel of a piece by accident?

4 comments

4 Comments

ruby_jones2mo ago

Honestly, saw a video about that exact thing last week!

vera_lewis22mo ago

That free brush pack sounds like a happy accident. Did you try it on other textures, like fabric or hair, to see if it does the same thing?

daniel1402mo ago

That grainy, paper-like finish you got on the skin tones is interesting. It makes me wonder if the brush is adding a noise layer or something. Have you checked the brush settings to see if there's a texture or grain slider you could turn up or down? Messing with that might let you control the effect more on purpose next time.

wendy1311mo ago

Disagree completely honestly. That grain isn't something you'd want to control on purpose, it's what makes digital art actually feel like art instead of a plastic render. I've messed with texture sliders plenty and they never give you that organic scatter you get from a brush that's just slightly out of your control. Tried turning down grain on a portrait once and it looked like a smoothed out instagram filter, lost all the life. Sometimes happy accidents with brushes are what separate a piece from looking like everyone else's clone stamp work. Leave the noise, lean into it.