A comment on a stream made me rethink my whole art process

I was watching a digital painter on Twitch last night, and someone in chat said 'you're not a real artist if you use the lasso tool for everything.' The streamer just laughed and said 'the tool doesn't make the art, you do.' It really stuck with me because I rely on that tool a lot for clean shapes. I guess I've been too worried about the 'right' way to do things. How do you decide which tools are just part of your style versus a crutch?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_paul15d ago

Ever try to paint a room without a brush guard? I used to think taping edges was cheating... until I saw the clean lines. If the lasso tool gets you the shape you want, that's your style. A crutch is when you use it because you're scared to try the brush.

the_christopher15d ago

Yeah, that streamer had it right. The lasso tool is just a different kind of brush. It's like @the_paul said about tape, it's a tool for a clean edge. If you're using it to make shapes you can't draw yet, that's learning, not a crutch. A crutch would be using the color picker on every single shadow because you're afraid to mix your own colors. If the lasso is how you get the sharp graphic look you want, that's your style.

cole54915d ago

But that's the thing, the streamer saying "the tool doesn't make the art" is a nice idea, but it lets you off the hook. If you use the lasso for everything like @the_paul's tape, you never learn to make a clean line by hand. That's hiding a skill you should practice.