@@hardboiled_cat she is the grandma from an anime called Dandadan, she have a contract with the local land god and it's give her youthful energy and mystic power.
Hey Marc, I would love to see a video specifically about the lasso tool. Especially because I hesitate to use it because it creates leftover pixels which make the picture not clean :3
@@jorionedwards That sounds great. I'm definitely going to experiment with this. This year I moved to Artrage Vitae and recently to Clip studio paint. And my mind is blown because I have never experienced this level of confidence drawing on a digital platform. This is when I got the confidence to work with one or two layers and it's freeing. I wanted to be away from Photoshop because I am not a fan anymore.
The way I'd describe it is failing faster. If you keep things on separate layers you can go back and change things on the fly. If you do everything on a single layer your mistakes are more difficult to fix or require creative solutions and so you'll make a mental note for the next time to not make that mistake. This makes you more efficient and accurate over time.
not related at all, but in programming we have a "fail fast" concept too. Where we do handle all errors before going to the logic, instead of handling errors within the logic. This make the code much more readable and easier to maintain.
If I like a certain look, but want to try something different I save as a version and work on a copy. Old school painter: This saving versions is what made me embrace digital drawing. Canvas and paints expensive. Makes me laugh when people say $6 monthly subscription is expensive.
Marc saying how long it takes to draw made me realize why I never like my own. I don’t take the amount of time to refine the work like he does. Very eye opening.
And note that he's an experienced professional and knows how to utilize his tools well, probably still fast compared to some other artists. I know artists, especially traditional artists, that take 20+ hours on a high quality piece. Also, 80% of the work can be done more easily than that last 20% polish which can double the time it takes to finish lol. In my understanding, the value of a good process to follow is that you can stick with your piece long enough to see it through until it's good instead of falling into that feeling of _I hate it at this point coz it's not what I imagined so I'll just trash it and start over_.
Honestly just the frustration of having to sift through so many layers motivated me to merge things down more often. Idk how anyone goes years of digital art without getting frustrated with all those layers eventually.
@@NihongoWakannai oh, believe us, it's frustrating, especially when the layers have so little in them that they get hard to spot, hence why I use less layers nowadays
Hundred of years with the painting masters using brush, oils, on a single canvas layer, Any artist today should try to work on a single layers from time to time , thats for sure ; Thanks for the amazing video .
@@NihongoWakannaii believe the reason was because of the paint they had to use. It would dry out fast and wasn't workable. They had to be VERY careful. Our closest thing we could get to that now might be cheap acrylic. Our techniques also advanced too.
@@NihongoWakannaihello noob, oil takes forever to dry and many paintings are absolutely massive in both scope and scale Your tiny drawing of naruto will of course be quicker to finish
I KINDA do that? What I like to do is working on one layer, then at some point duplicate it and keep working on that layer. That way it leaves me what I call "checkpoints". If there's a part I don't like, I can cut into it and bring back the older version and work on that part again to get what I want. Then I'll merge those two layers. It still leaves a bit of an opening for change that way :D
This is a good thing to do and it also lets you very easily compare. Sometimes you'll think "idk did I really improve this?" Well if you have the checkpoints you can very easily compare and see if your changes improved the painting.
This is what separates you from other art tutorials, the specificity and meaning. Layers can be crutches for sure, having a cohesive piece sometimes is more important, where everything in the drawing is relative to each other. I still have to learn this way more
It's funny how hearing this from someone you admire so much comforts me. For a while I was training like this, and even though I felt I was improving, I stopped because I thought I was practicing in a stupid way. And now I regret that decision again. Thanks for this video, I'll go back to practicing a single layer
@@leonaise7546an argument could be: we got layers, why not use them. Since we as humanity always move forward technologically. We dont go back with horse carriages because we got something more efficient and easier. Just like it might be easier and more comfortable for some to use layers.
I’d just recommend people to do tradional art from time to time too. Which is like the next step of doing just 1 layer. The worst part about painting tradionally is the price, but you can find quite cheap supplies and still make amazing works. The feeling of having it physically is also amazing! Big recommend from a mainly tradional artist!
I recently got a small sketchbook to try sketching traditionally and have now graduated to using colored pencils as well. It has helped my creativity and art block soooo much.
I like using different layers because when I color i may get disatisfied with how it looks and it's nice to just go back to the coloring layer and swap the color to something that fits the whole scene better.
Are you reading my mind again? I'm slowly attempting digital art and I always try to remind myself of adding more layers because I keep thinking I'm not fully working with all the resources I have doing digital art. But this is sooo great! I'll definitely consider using more layers just for work and keep a single layer whenever I draw for fun 😊
I started doing this a couple of weeks ago and I was shocked to see how much faster I've become (like, from days to a few hours). And it was strangely relaxing too.
I totally agree about simplifying with fewer layers, but I think single-layer work shines more for speed paints or thumbnail sketches rather than final pieces. Minimizing layers is important-like one for the background, one for the character, and maybe another for foreground elements. If something blocks the main character, I’ll sometimes add a separate layer for it. I get the frustration with layer management. What helps me is assigning a shortcut to the “find layer” tool-Clip Studio Paint has it, and Photoshop should too. I think you can also use the move tool to jump between layers. Another tip is assigning shortcuts to quickly create or merge layers. This lets you paint, tweak, and merge on the fly, keeping layers minimal but still flexible. I think this workflow saves time compared to relying heavily on the lasso tool. While avoiding layers reduces management, lassoing everything adds unnecessary work. Adding layers from the start could streamline your process.
Those speedpaints were the reason I started following you back in 2012. Good to see you showing off that technique AND drawing Seiko in the same video!
I still miss his old tutorials where he'd draw slower to show the process in real time. I get that tiktok brainrot has fried us but mannnnnn still salty about it. His OG head drawing vids tops any of his newer head tutorials, same for some of his other tutorials. Especially when he reuses clips half the time. It's kinda sad seeing the production off his videos become smoother and clearer but the actual content take a little dive. I dont want to critique too hard but having just speed paints and edits of previous tutorials doesn't exactly showcase his teaching style for his course as well as his older vids from 3ish years ago did.
All the drawings I do are on one layer. You can make great drawings by using the opacity of the brush and spend more time drawing than selecting tools.
I've always been a low layer painter but I do occasionally try single layer painting and the only thing that holds me back from committing to it is a lot of the brushes I love to use have pseudo-blending methods which really forces me to commit to blocking in colors and not working too detailed too soon, or to experiment with different brushes. It is difficult, but it is the struggle that makes it so rewarding.
The way that you did smoke using the lasso tool was mindblowing to me. There are many tutorials that go over flames or smokes and they often teach you that they have holes in the middle, but then using negative lasso tool selections is such an interesting way to do it. I'm going to try that next time
This is kinda hilarious to watch as someone who has done mostly non digital painting, and has recently moved to digital. What you do here is just the traditional method of painting. Love the vids!
I love working on one layer! Even now, unless I know it will be a complicated multi plane painting, I always aim to keep my layers under 3. Glad to see this video that captures all the reasons why I love doing it.
I actually love painting on one layer, or sometimes just a few that I end up merging about halfway through the process when the majority of the image is properly planned out. I find I have more fun with the blending that way and makes it easier to jump between traditional oil painting and digital painting.
Ever since i started to try taking art seriously around a year and a half ago, I've noticed that if i go back to my older sketches or pieces and compare them with things i do now, I've managed to resuce the number of layers i use on average for accomplishing the same things Which definitely shows how layer usage is tied to your confidence in what you're doing
Layers can still be used in this way for creating different variations of the same image and separating objects in the scene. Different hairstyles, clothes, backgrounds, etc. But for a one and done piece of art, it's good practice and brings us closer to the old masters.
I was strugling to draw lineart for idk how long, but now i decided to go without it and draw with colored shapes and oh boi it turned out that i can draw lol
I've been doing something sort of in-between and I'm really satisfied. Each "part" gets its own layer with colors and all of the shading/lighting done on the same layer. It can still be a lot of layers, like 20 or more depending on the art, but definitely more manageable
you definitely get used to it the more you do it, and you can always edit your selection using "shift" to add to it or "alt" to sub from it - but it is strange there's no smoothing option like there is for brushes
@@YTartschool It's probably another crutch, but Lazy Nezumi Pro saved my bacon and helped me to stop redrawing every single line 50 or 70 times before I get it right.The best part is that it's an external program that a) can hook to any app, not just photoshop, b) doesn't care what tool is selected, so it'll smooth the stroke for _any_ of them. Which lead to c) all smoothing across all apps is uniform and consistent so you quickly get used to it.
i love love love using one layer because it's so much less annoying to move between the layers... for now i'm still separating 1-2 layers for bg but it's way more convenient. also lineart is a pain to do :') i highly recommend because it really teaches how everything is relative to one another in a drawing! i still do use blending modes to adjust at the end but hopefully i'll be able to do entirely one layer someday
I like to draw with very few layers, it is faster and saves space. At the moment I don't make any line art, but just sketch loosely the overall construction, use a watercolor blender to diffuse everything and then draw it again more precisely, add some darker values with a softer and larger sketch brush, add some light by erasing, blend again and keep on working until satisfied. At this point, you just have to set the layer to multiply and add colors on a layer underneath. Also, working your colors on a single layer allows them to blend more naturally.
Actually, I’ve been using Procreate on a cheap iPad. This means I have a very limited amount of layers. Since I like using the “page” feature, so each file is like a mini sketchbook, I’ve been forced to use only one layer per drawing. It does allow me to have one background layer. I learned a lot and it has actually helped me with traditional art as well.
In a way this is like making yourself paint on actual paper where you don't have layers. When colouring physically for example, you have to put the lighter tones first and then shadows after. Or you start with a pencil drawing and ink the lines afterwards. So painting on a single layer is essentially recreating those limitations on real paper which is useful as you are forced to be more creative and even more careful and you will choose your strokes more deliberately.
Using a few layers would save you time and accuracy when selecting the background around the character, so it's not always a "i made a mistake" backup plan
Painting on 1 or 2 layers has improved my art dramatically. Having the drawing too compartmentalized with layers makes the steps I need to take too confusing to process. I can function much better when i can takes the same steps I would for an oil or watercolor painting.
I’ve painted on one layer for years, for me personally it makes it easier to fix mistakes and it isn’t so confusing. As for lineart, I started painting on a layer below it and then merging the two to continue painting. I love using just one layer lol
I’ve felt the layer and layer mode crutch since day 1. Hard to control, no matter how much I took time to learn. Colour comping and just diving straight in to rendering no matter how messy it is so freeing. While I find one layer extreme, (3 is my comfort zone) I’d definitely like to try this.
The way I eased into this when I was too scared was to use layers but never stack them, just like make new layer, do a thing then quickly merge it back down. That made me me realize pretty quickly that committing to one layer isn't as intimidating as I thought
okay so first of all as in every video you did another amazing masterpiece drawing but now only on single layer and how you drew that smoke and rendered it oh my god a lot of skill is shown here a great proof of how good you truly are , i was here tho when u first started YT and posted speedpaints i always was amazed by them and commented how i love it now years later i could not even closely draw with layers what you did here as a study piece and if i even did it would took me hours and you said you did this in about 3 h i mean like i would have done lines and base colors maybe some basic rendering with layers in 3h and keep rest for next day lol but yeah we should not compare to each other you are master and im just a pleb you may think you not good enouhgt but youre truly a S tier always inspires and amazes me thank you for keeping that little spark in me
I agree on everything. Surprisingly, I draw more efficiently painting on 1 layer than having multiple layers. Being able to paint/draw forms also helps build more confidence if drawing in 1 layer.
5:40 can be crucial information. My best drawing had some sloppy rough outlines at first & I was ready to give up. But despite that, I still tried rendering & my artwork turned out great
I definitely understand this. Realistically I’m still going to utilize layers. (I love using different layer modes :3) I’m mostly just trying to use LESS layers.
I've been using a lasso tool since the beginning of my journey. And when ibis paint added that special tool I've been using it,and ever since I wouldn't need any brush for rendering. And people say my art looks good,which I agree with
Great video, and great concept! I think personally this method isn't for me (maybe not yet?) but the premise is familiar: simplify and don't get bogged down by too many layers. I like to add a layer whenever I am adding to a piece, but generally once I'm satisfied with the stuff I added, I try to merge down to minimize the number of active layers - rinse and repeat until it's done. Keeping certain elements apart until it's time for post production tweaks is very helpful to me, usually keeping say foreground, mid and background separate. I do eventually merge all of those for post production though. I totally get the people who are reluctant to stop using many layers in fear of messing up. But there are other ways to establish reset points- one of my methods is to create copies of the piece at certain intervals, and I'd keep these different iterations as a stack/folder - peace of mind even if I never go back to them and they can be deleted later.
one rule i have that comes close to this is when i finish a step (sketch, lining, flats, shading) i slap all the layers together and dont allow myself to edit them anymore. keep it and do it better next time. otherwise i would probably spend hours finetuning everything and get essentially nowhere.
I recently switched to painting with only one layer. Here’a what I found: - this method forces me to learn color theory from the ground up. I realized I’d been cheating my way through color theory by using different blending modes, and I understood nothing about how colors work. - this method gives me more freedom. I realized I could get more bold with color choices for my painting without making it feel out of place.
I have perfectionism problems and the way I've tackled them is by drawing with a very fine point sharpy on paper, you have to take your lines at a decent speed and you can't undo things, which leads to me drawing things multiple times instead of redrawing over and over again, leading to me not only learning what I did wrong the first time, but learning how to do it right without needing revisions. Very helpful when trying to draw the same character multiple times, for things like animation though tbh for me it's mostly been because drawing with a marker is relatively stress free because I know I don't have the pressure of being able to fix the product, I don't have that obligation towards quality that if I could do a better job I should try to make it look better, instead that turns into, well this didn't work out, guess I'll have to try again learning from last time. Very useful. NOw actually getting to the video topic (lol), I notice that the same thing happens with layers, where I'll get one layer to a point and then I'll be afraid to touch it, copying things or saving the project into drafts anytime I get something to a point I think I might be happy with, but still need to move forwards. It's rough to learn to not be attached to my creations, and to trust in my ability to create them. Drawing on a whiteboard or with a sharpy on paper is different, but I also impose limitations on myself in digital like drawing using a brush without line weight sometimes because I dislike using tools without purpose.
I paint traditionally most of the time and I found having multiple layers overwhelming when I first started out on digital painting. To this day, I only ever use one layer except on some cases where I want the light to pop (multiply layer).
Between this and watching other videos, I'm finally starting not have the anxiety I've had where I didn't do anything. Between sketching, thumbnailing just scribbling doodling things out I'm feeling a little more comfortable in some ways getting things down. Personal projects are harder because I don't a crystal clear picture, just more a feeling and can't decide where I want to go. Still only doing thumbnails sketches/scribbles but if anything it's helping me loosen up on the anxiety. I'm still not comfortable going from sketch, to draft/lineart let alone try painting. I should try the shape/silouette first and then paint/sculpt it all in after.
I actually love painting with one layer OR if I’m unsure, I’ll make a separate layer to continue if I’m unsure, then merge it below and continue. I also study a lot of traditional artists and I think they’ve just sort of influenced me a lot.
I do a mix of these workflows for sure. It usaslly goes well. I don't feel too bad with issues knowing I banged it out in a short period, good tips for sure. def get his brushes too.
Interesting, I've found that coloring my sketches helps me notice mistakes faster, so I always add a general idea of the colors and lighting on the sketch, before proceeding to clean up the linework and color as always. I've noticed that reminding myself that I can always, at any stage, fix mistakes (meaning if I have merged my layers already), makes me work more fluidly, so I can see where the "one layer" thing helps. Might... do the one layer thing for a sort of sketch and then work the lineart from there.
I actually have always done this in my art! Which is pretty cool to see, only thing I also do is thru out the art progress a simple copy paste of the layer to keep my progress! But most of the time they end up in a hidden folder to be forgotten. Sometimes I do completely mess up, like when I mindlessly paint over a detail I forgot I planned out so it's nice to grab that from a previous process safe. Trust me it saved my life. Other than that I also copy and paste my layer when I do automatic contrast/colors/tints on photoshop so I can mess around with the opaqueness or any other filters without effecting my original piece which is also nice, in the end it's digital art and u should allow urself to play with filters :> !! I learned the one layer game back in 2016 and I can imagine drawing a different way 🤙😎
Well I meant to say *Can't imagine* but my mobile is not letting me edit the comment above^ tho id like to add that in art u should be flexible so I can draw with layers but- you get what ik trying to say o(-( LMAO
Hey ther! I just wanted to say I really enjoyed your video and am planning to sign up for the Art program by the end of the month and can't wait to start learning!
The funny thing is that recently I didn't have access to my computer, so I started to draw traditionally again for that short amount of time. When I finally got back to my computer, I noticed that I started to draw in 1 layer like a person would traditionally.
I know the vid is about not using layers... But I have almost always restricted myself to 8 to 12 layers. When I started, I used to get around 30+ layers. I reduced that for efficiency. Guess, I need to level up even more. Nice video.
I've only done 2 drawings exclusively on one layer. I think on how tedious it felt (drawing, shading, refining, repeat) but overall once I found my flow it was fun It was far from perfect but its one of my best digital drawings. But you mentioning that comfort compromises growth. Makes me wanna r Try it more. Maybe i wont feel as stagnant.
I ended up flattening a lot of my early pictures after getting frustrated at drawing / painting something on the wrong layer, I must have wasted hours on trying to get undo mistakes. It’s fun to just slap something on one layer, though it does take courage to commit!
Most digital artists also drawing traditionally, or at the very least, started traditionally when they were younger. Traditional artists are more than welcome to try digital! Knowing both is so beneficial.
Digital art and traditional art could be counted as separate things, but both require the same amount of skill, and I'm pretty sure almost every artist draws on paper.
In my experience I feel like using many layers feels like more of a commitment than using a single layer. It’s easy for me to paint over a mistake on one layer, but if you want to do that with multiple layers you might need to edit all of them one by one…
Painting traditionally helps train you better as well for 1 layer artists! Started painting traditionally(goauche) to learn how to paint more efficiently digitally. You learn new things and break away bad habits like focusing too much on unneccessary details and being more careful with your choices.
I think the fact just clicking on this video made me grimace and think "I know it's a good thing but I don't want to!" is the best way to tell I SHOULD try this... 😭
Rare times for me painting a grandma, but still had fun. Now do YOU accept the no layer challenge?!? 🔥🔥
grandma?? she don't look even SLIGHTLY close to that age
where do you see a grandma?
@@hardboiled_cat she is the grandma from an anime called Dandadan, she have a contract with the local land god and it's give her youthful energy and mystic power.
@@MrDeathCell I know nothing about that anime but thank you for explaining.
Hey Marc, I would love to see a video specifically about the lasso tool. Especially because I hesitate to use it because it creates leftover pixels which make the picture not clean :3
is grandma in the room with us
Working on one layer and working with black and white then going for colours is like unlocking the best part of the brain. It's incredible!
Thats a good idea im gonna try that
This but a light yellow and a dark purple on a hardlight layer.
@@jorionedwards That sounds great. I'm definitely going to experiment with this. This year I moved to Artrage Vitae and recently to Clip studio paint. And my mind is blown because I have never experienced this level of confidence drawing on a digital platform. This is when I got the confidence to work with one or two layers and it's freeing. I wanted to be away from Photoshop because I am not a fan anymore.
at that point I'll just use paper and pencil, one layer and black and white
@@hrothgargogo im pretty sure they are talking about coloring in greyscale before adding color not just doing greyscale
The way I'd describe it is failing faster.
If you keep things on separate layers you can go back and change things on the fly.
If you do everything on a single layer your mistakes are more difficult to fix or require creative solutions and so you'll make a mental note for the next time to not make that mistake.
This makes you more efficient and accurate over time.
great way to put it 👌
not related at all, but in programming we have a "fail fast" concept too. Where we do handle all errors before going to the logic, instead of handling errors within the logic. This make the code much more readable and easier to maintain.
If I like a certain look, but want to try something different I save as a version and work on a copy. Old school painter: This saving versions is what made me embrace digital drawing. Canvas and paints expensive. Makes me laugh when people say $6 monthly subscription is expensive.
kinda have to disagree on the "more difficult" part, it's a more personal thing.
Marc saying how long it takes to draw made me realize why I never like my own. I don’t take the amount of time to refine the work like he does. Very eye opening.
Strong introspection. These are the kind of realizations that will take you to levels beyond your initial capacity. Godspeed Gustavo
And note that he's an experienced professional and knows how to utilize his tools well, probably still fast compared to some other artists. I know artists, especially traditional artists, that take 20+ hours on a high quality piece. Also, 80% of the work can be done more easily than that last 20% polish which can double the time it takes to finish lol.
In my understanding, the value of a good process to follow is that you can stick with your piece long enough to see it through until it's good instead of falling into that feeling of _I hate it at this point coz it's not what I imagined so I'll just trash it and start over_.
Speed painting does mess with our perception of the things a little.
Layers do have their uses, but I must agree that they are often crutches in progression and confidence, great advice as always Marc
Yeah especially for client work. Easy to change on the fly.
Honestly just the frustration of having to sift through so many layers motivated me to merge things down more often. Idk how anyone goes years of digital art without getting frustrated with all those layers eventually.
@@NihongoWakannai oh, believe us, it's frustrating, especially when the layers have so little in them that they get hard to spot, hence why I use less layers nowadays
@@grimsonforce7504 as someone who does commissions as well, those layers go come in handy
Hundred of years with the painting masters using brush, oils, on a single canvas layer,
Any artist today should try to work on a single layers from time to time , thats for sure ;
Thanks for the amazing video .
They also took way longer to finish paintings tho...
@@NihongoWakannaii believe the reason was because of the paint they had to use. It would dry out fast and wasn't workable. They had to be VERY careful. Our closest thing we could get to that now might be cheap acrylic. Our techniques also advanced too.
@@NihongoWakannaihello noob, oil takes forever to dry and many paintings are absolutely massive in both scope and scale
Your tiny drawing of naruto will of course be quicker to finish
@@reptile797 ok, seems like you really want to convince yourself you're smarter than others.
@@reptile797 not cool man. Informative, but the delivery was not cool...
I KINDA do that? What I like to do is working on one layer, then at some point duplicate it and keep working on that layer. That way it leaves me what I call "checkpoints". If there's a part I don't like, I can cut into it and bring back the older version and work on that part again to get what I want. Then I'll merge those two layers. It still leaves a bit of an opening for change that way :D
I do the exact same thing it’s like in the middle of the two methods
This is actually a great idea I may try this. Trying to keep track of a bunch of layers is so tedious to me lol
@@onixrodriguez6588 It really is! And I tend not to name them, so the chaos is real lol
This is a good thing to do and it also lets you very easily compare.
Sometimes you'll think "idk did I really improve this?" Well if you have the checkpoints you can very easily compare and see if your changes improved the painting.
my signature process! ™️
This is what separates you from other art tutorials, the specificity and meaning.
Layers can be crutches for sure, having a cohesive piece sometimes is more important, where everything in the drawing is relative to each other. I still have to learn this way more
It's funny how hearing this from someone you admire so much comforts me. For a while I was training like this, and even though I felt I was improving, I stopped because I thought I was practicing in a stupid way. And now I regret that decision again. Thanks for this video, I'll go back to practicing a single layer
I agree It's reassuring
How can it be stupid when it’s replicating how artist create art IRL?
@@leonaise7546an argument could be: we got layers, why not use them. Since we as humanity always move forward technologically. We dont go back with horse carriages because we got something more efficient and easier. Just like it might be easier and more comfortable for some to use layers.
I’d just recommend people to do tradional art from time to time too.
Which is like the next step of doing just 1 layer. The worst part about painting tradionally is the price, but you can find quite cheap supplies and still make amazing works. The feeling of having it physically is also amazing!
Big recommend from a mainly tradional artist!
I recently got a small sketchbook to try sketching traditionally and have now graduated to using colored pencils as well. It has helped my creativity and art block soooo much.
@ Ooh that’s neat!
I usually use Gouache and acrylic paint nowmore. Def recommend testing it!
I like using different layers because when I color i may get disatisfied with how it looks and it's nice to just go back to the coloring layer and swap the color to something that fits the whole scene better.
that's the point of this video, to loose all the comfort from layers so that you grow as an artist
yesss, affirm my laziness. i dont FEEL like constantly switching layers and learning about clipping and masking
Are you reading my mind again? I'm slowly attempting digital art and I always try to remind myself of adding more layers because I keep thinking I'm not fully working with all the resources I have doing digital art. But this is sooo great! I'll definitely consider using more layers just for work and keep a single layer whenever I draw for fun 😊
I've used to have 50 layer and more in my past drawings, now i draw on three layers, merge it all, then render and add details :D
I started doing this a couple of weeks ago and I was shocked to see how much faster I've become (like, from days to a few hours).
And it was strangely relaxing too.
I totally agree about simplifying with fewer layers, but I think single-layer work shines more for speed paints or thumbnail sketches rather than final pieces. Minimizing layers is important-like one for the background, one for the character, and maybe another for foreground elements. If something blocks the main character, I’ll sometimes add a separate layer for it.
I get the frustration with layer management. What helps me is assigning a shortcut to the “find layer” tool-Clip Studio Paint has it, and Photoshop should too. I think you can also use the move tool to jump between layers. Another tip is assigning shortcuts to quickly create or merge layers. This lets you paint, tweak, and merge on the fly, keeping layers minimal but still flexible.
I think this workflow saves time compared to relying heavily on the lasso tool. While avoiding layers reduces management, lassoing everything adds unnecessary work. Adding layers from the start could streamline your process.
Those speedpaints were the reason I started following you back in 2012. Good to see you showing off that technique AND drawing Seiko in the same video!
I still miss his old tutorials where he'd draw slower to show the process in real time. I get that tiktok brainrot has fried us but mannnnnn still salty about it. His OG head drawing vids tops any of his newer head tutorials, same for some of his other tutorials. Especially when he reuses clips half the time. It's kinda sad seeing the production off his videos become smoother and clearer but the actual content take a little dive.
I dont want to critique too hard but having just speed paints and edits of previous tutorials doesn't exactly showcase his teaching style for his course as well as his older vids from 3ish years ago did.
The color sense in this piece is off the charts
All the drawings I do are on one layer. You can make great drawings by using the opacity of the brush and spend more time drawing than selecting tools.
I'll stick with layers until I finish learning the basics. I'll remember to try this when I can draw at the level where I can apply this knowledge.
I've always been a low layer painter but I do occasionally try single layer painting and the only thing that holds me back from committing to it is a lot of the brushes I love to use have pseudo-blending methods which really forces me to commit to blocking in colors and not working too detailed too soon, or to experiment with different brushes. It is difficult, but it is the struggle that makes it so rewarding.
The way that you did smoke using the lasso tool was mindblowing to me. There are many tutorials that go over flames or smokes and they often teach you that they have holes in the middle, but then using negative lasso tool selections is such an interesting way to do it. I'm going to try that next time
This is kinda hilarious to watch as someone who has done mostly non digital painting, and has recently moved to digital. What you do here is just the traditional method of painting. Love the vids!
i draw using blending modes first and after im satisfied with how it looks i merge them into one layer for rendering! it really saves time
I love working on one layer! Even now, unless I know it will be a complicated multi plane painting, I always aim to keep my layers under 3. Glad to see this video that captures all the reasons why I love doing it.
I actually love painting on one layer, or sometimes just a few that I end up merging about halfway through the process when the majority of the image is properly planned out. I find I have more fun with the blending that way and makes it easier to jump between traditional oil painting and digital painting.
Ever since i started to try taking art seriously around a year and a half ago, I've noticed that if i go back to my older sketches or pieces and compare them with things i do now, I've managed to resuce the number of layers i use on average for accomplishing the same things
Which definitely shows how layer usage is tied to your confidence in what you're doing
Layers can still be used in this way for creating different variations of the same image and separating objects in the scene. Different hairstyles, clothes, backgrounds, etc. But for a one and done piece of art, it's good practice and brings us closer to the old masters.
I was strugling to draw lineart for idk how long, but now i decided to go without it and draw with colored shapes and oh boi it turned out that i can draw lol
I've been doing something sort of in-between and I'm really satisfied. Each "part" gets its own layer with colors and all of the shading/lighting done on the same layer. It can still be a lot of layers, like 20 or more depending on the art, but definitely more manageable
It's crazy. Not only are you teaching people how to draw, you're also showing off all the best anime to watch each season. Old Hag is on point!
My problem with the lasso tool that I'm always way too shaky so the selection always goes outside of where i want it😭😭
you definitely get used to it the more you do it, and you can always edit your selection using "shift" to add to it or "alt" to sub from it - but it is strange there's no smoothing option like there is for brushes
@@YTartschool
It's probably another crutch, but Lazy Nezumi Pro saved my bacon and helped me to stop redrawing every single line 50 or 70 times before I get it right.The best part is that it's an external program that a) can hook to any app, not just photoshop, b) doesn't care what tool is selected, so it'll smooth the stroke for _any_ of them. Which lead to c) all smoothing across all apps is uniform and consistent so you quickly get used to it.
relatable, thats why i just use pen tool and select with it. Takes longer but im not used to lasso yet
Bro your tuts are sorry authentic, really enjoy watching your channel.
i love love love using one layer because it's so much less annoying to move between the layers... for now i'm still separating 1-2 layers for bg but it's way more convenient. also lineart is a pain to do :') i highly recommend because it really teaches how everything is relative to one another in a drawing! i still do use blending modes to adjust at the end but hopefully i'll be able to do entirely one layer someday
I like to draw with very few layers, it is faster and saves space. At the moment I don't make any line art, but just sketch loosely the overall construction, use a watercolor blender to diffuse everything and then draw it again more precisely, add some darker values with a softer and larger sketch brush, add some light by erasing, blend again and keep on working until satisfied. At this point, you just have to set the layer to multiply and add colors on a layer underneath. Also, working your colors on a single layer allows them to blend more naturally.
Actually, I’ve been using Procreate on a cheap iPad. This means I have a very limited amount of layers. Since I like using the “page” feature, so each file is like a mini sketchbook, I’ve been forced to use only one layer per drawing. It does allow me to have one background layer. I learned a lot and it has actually helped me with traditional art as well.
In a way this is like making yourself paint on actual paper where you don't have layers. When colouring physically for example, you have to put the lighter tones first and then shadows after. Or you start with a pencil drawing and ink the lines afterwards. So painting on a single layer is essentially recreating those limitations on real paper which is useful as you are forced to be more creative and even more careful and you will choose your strokes more deliberately.
Using a few layers would save you time and accuracy when selecting the background around the character, so it's not always a "i made a mistake" backup plan
Painting on 1 or 2 layers has improved my art dramatically. Having the drawing too compartmentalized with layers makes the steps I need to take too confusing to process. I can function much better when i can takes the same steps I would for an oil or watercolor painting.
I’ve painted on one layer for years, for me personally it makes it easier to fix mistakes and it isn’t so confusing. As for lineart, I started painting on a layer below it and then merging the two to continue painting. I love using just one layer lol
It's like Wet-On- Wet in tradicional art. They say that it helps to be confident and deal dynamic with tthe issues.
I’ve felt the layer and layer mode crutch since day 1. Hard to control, no matter how much I took time to learn. Colour comping and just diving straight in to rendering no matter how messy it is so freeing. While I find one layer extreme, (3 is my comfort zone) I’d definitely like to try this.
It makes sense especially for someone who uses mainly traditional media. It's essentially working on one layer without the privilege of undo
The way I eased into this when I was too scared was to use layers but never stack them, just like make new layer, do a thing then quickly merge it back down. That made me me realize pretty quickly that committing to one layer isn't as intimidating as I thought
okay so first of all as in every video you did another amazing masterpiece drawing but now only on single layer and how you drew that smoke and rendered it oh my god a lot of skill is shown here a great proof of how good you truly are , i was here tho when u first started YT and posted speedpaints i always was amazed by them and commented how i love it now years later i could not even closely draw with layers what you did here as a study piece and if i even did it would took me hours and you said you did this in about 3 h i mean like i would have done lines and base colors maybe some basic rendering with layers in 3h and keep rest for next day lol but yeah we should not compare to each other you are master and im just a pleb you may think you not good enouhgt but youre truly a S tier always inspires and amazes me thank you for keeping that little spark in me
Will definitely try it! I love these videos where you unclose some golden knowledge
I agree on everything. Surprisingly, I draw more efficiently painting on 1 layer than having multiple layers. Being able to paint/draw forms also helps build more confidence if drawing in 1 layer.
5:40 can be crucial information. My best drawing had some sloppy rough outlines at first & I was ready to give up. But despite that, I still tried rendering & my artwork turned out great
I've been trying this and it's insanely fun to do, I love the process!
I definitely understand this. Realistically I’m still going to utilize layers. (I love using different layer modes :3) I’m mostly just trying to use LESS layers.
I've been using a lasso tool since the beginning of my journey. And when ibis paint added that special tool I've been using it,and ever since I wouldn't need any brush for rendering. And people say my art looks good,which I agree with
Line sketching makes drawing alot harder for me and adds more stress. I am happy you said I this.
Marc drops an art class right after my birthday! Cool Stuff!
Great video, and great concept! I think personally this method isn't for me (maybe not yet?) but the premise is familiar: simplify and don't get bogged down by too many layers. I like to add a layer whenever I am adding to a piece, but generally once I'm satisfied with the stuff I added, I try to merge down to minimize the number of active layers - rinse and repeat until it's done.
Keeping certain elements apart until it's time for post production tweaks is very helpful to me, usually keeping say foreground, mid and background separate. I do eventually merge all of those for post production though.
I totally get the people who are reluctant to stop using many layers in fear of messing up. But there are other ways to establish reset points- one of my methods is to create copies of the piece at certain intervals, and I'd keep these different iterations as a stack/folder - peace of mind even if I never go back to them and they can be deleted later.
this is the same technique Sakimichan uses and I always wanted to learn, but there's so much that goes behind scenes that simply blocking shapes
one rule i have that comes close to this is when i finish a step (sketch, lining, flats, shading) i slap all the layers together and dont allow myself to edit them anymore.
keep it and do it better next time. otherwise i would probably spend hours finetuning everything and get essentially nowhere.
Loving the dandadan cameos.
I recently switched to painting with only one layer. Here’a what I found:
- this method forces me to learn color theory from the ground up. I realized I’d been cheating my way through color theory by using different blending modes, and I understood nothing about how colors work.
- this method gives me more freedom. I realized I could get more bold with color choices for my painting without making it feel out of place.
totally agree. I got significantly faster at painting once I started limiting my layer usage and the change happened over night
I have perfectionism problems and the way I've tackled them is by drawing with a very fine point sharpy on paper, you have to take your lines at a decent speed and you can't undo things, which leads to me drawing things multiple times instead of redrawing over and over again, leading to me not only learning what I did wrong the first time, but learning how to do it right without needing revisions. Very helpful when trying to draw the same character multiple times, for things like animation though tbh for me it's mostly been because drawing with a marker is relatively stress free because I know I don't have the pressure of being able to fix the product, I don't have that obligation towards quality that if I could do a better job I should try to make it look better, instead that turns into, well this didn't work out, guess I'll have to try again learning from last time. Very useful.
NOw actually getting to the video topic (lol), I notice that the same thing happens with layers, where I'll get one layer to a point and then I'll be afraid to touch it, copying things or saving the project into drafts anytime I get something to a point I think I might be happy with, but still need to move forwards. It's rough to learn to not be attached to my creations, and to trust in my ability to create them. Drawing on a whiteboard or with a sharpy on paper is different, but I also impose limitations on myself in digital like drawing using a brush without line weight sometimes because I dislike using tools without purpose.
Yesss I hate layers I’m so glad you made this 😭❤️
I paint traditionally most of the time and I found having multiple layers overwhelming when I first started out on digital painting. To this day, I only ever use one layer except on some cases where I want the light to pop (multiply layer).
so its straight up raw dogging rendering, looks super fun ima try it
Marc your the best ever! your videos are worth any class
first rule of only using one layer : be good at painting
Between this and watching other videos, I'm finally starting not have the anxiety I've had where I didn't do anything. Between sketching, thumbnailing just scribbling doodling things out I'm feeling a little more comfortable in some ways getting things down. Personal projects are harder because I don't a crystal clear picture, just more a feeling and can't decide where I want to go. Still only doing thumbnails sketches/scribbles but if anything it's helping me loosen up on the anxiety. I'm still not comfortable going from sketch, to draft/lineart let alone try painting. I should try the shape/silouette first and then paint/sculpt it all in after.
I actually love painting with one layer OR if I’m unsure, I’ll make a separate layer to continue if I’m unsure, then merge it below and continue. I also study a lot of traditional artists and I think they’ve just sort of influenced me a lot.
I do a mix of these workflows for sure. It usaslly goes well. I don't feel too bad with issues knowing I banged it out in a short period, good tips for sure. def get his brushes too.
T'es le goat, tes vidéos sont super cools man.
Interesting, I've found that coloring my sketches helps me notice mistakes faster, so I always add a general idea of the colors and lighting on the sketch, before proceeding to clean up the linework and color as always.
I've noticed that reminding myself that I can always, at any stage, fix mistakes (meaning if I have merged my layers already), makes me work more fluidly, so I can see where the "one layer" thing helps.
Might... do the one layer thing for a sort of sketch and then work the lineart from there.
Great video, I will try to use more the select mode because I don’t even think to use it when I’m doing one layer artworks!
It would be great in the future a video about how to draw faster and accurately, this is a great video!
the ultimate HARDCORE Digital Art Drawing
I actually have always done this in my art! Which is pretty cool to see, only thing I also do is thru out the art progress a simple copy paste of the layer to keep my progress! But most of the time they end up in a hidden folder to be forgotten. Sometimes I do completely mess up, like when I mindlessly paint over a detail I forgot I planned out so it's nice to grab that from a previous process safe. Trust me it saved my life. Other than that I also copy and paste my layer when I do automatic contrast/colors/tints on photoshop so I can mess around with the opaqueness or any other filters without effecting my original piece which is also nice, in the end it's digital art and u should allow urself to play with filters :> !! I learned the one layer game back in 2016 and I can imagine drawing a different way 🤙😎
Well I meant to say *Can't imagine* but my mobile is not letting me edit the comment above^ tho id like to add that in art u should be flexible so I can draw with layers but- you get what ik trying to say o(-( LMAO
I'mma try it. It looks and sounds fun and chaotic!!!
I love this cause it's essentially like traditional drawing mentality.
Not using layers ?! *Twilight Zone Theme starts playing*
In my last commission I ended up with 11 layers 😅 I was satysfied with the result but yeah, this will help a lot
7:49 man I don't think id ever be able to drop the smoke on the same layar 😭 Looks amazing so guess ill try pull my shit together and give this a go.
It’s time u posted agaiiinn.
I tried something like this recently. I kept my layers down to three; lines, color and shading.
I finished it in three days rather than three weeks. 👍
I cannot believe i've been following you sice 14 years, crazy. 1:20
damn, we getting old!
Hey ther! I just wanted to say I really enjoyed your video and am planning to sign up for the Art program by the end of the month and can't wait to start learning!
I love your art you have helped me so much
The funny thing is that recently I didn't have access to my computer, so I started to draw traditionally again for that short amount of time. When I finally got back to my computer, I noticed that I started to draw in 1 layer like a person would traditionally.
I come back like once every few months and somehow the explosions are still so funny what the hell
He is crazy for this one!
I hope the day that I have the confidence to make art this way, I'm just never getting used to doing line art, clean art in general...
I've started incorporating the lasso tool into my work
I know the vid is about not using layers... But I have almost always restricted myself to 8 to 12 layers. When I started, I used to get around 30+ layers. I reduced that for efficiency. Guess, I need to level up even more. Nice video.
I've only done 2 drawings exclusively on one layer. I think on how tedious it felt (drawing, shading, refining, repeat) but overall once I found my flow it was fun
It was far from perfect but its one of my best digital drawings.
But you mentioning that comfort compromises growth. Makes me wanna r
Try it more. Maybe i wont feel as stagnant.
I ended up flattening a lot of my early pictures after getting frustrated at drawing / painting something on the wrong layer, I must have wasted hours on trying to get undo mistakes. It’s fun to just slap something on one layer, though it does take courage to commit!
Bro just discovered what we traditional artist experience every time
bro thinks I don't do traditional art
Most digital artists also drawing traditionally, or at the very least, started traditionally when they were younger. Traditional artists are more than welcome to try digital! Knowing both is so beneficial.
Digital art and traditional art could be counted as separate things, but both require the same amount of skill, and I'm pretty sure almost every artist draws on paper.
In my experience I feel like using many layers feels like more of a commitment than using a single layer. It’s easy for me to paint over a mistake on one layer, but if you want to do that with multiple layers you might need to edit all of them one by one…
Painting traditionally helps train you better as well for 1 layer artists! Started painting traditionally(goauche) to learn how to paint more efficiently digitally. You learn new things and break away bad habits like focusing too much on unneccessary details and being more careful with your choices.
I think the fact just clicking on this video made me grimace and think "I know it's a good thing but I don't want to!" is the best way to tell I SHOULD try this... 😭
Dude i clicked so fast
The best artist on RUclips
Beautiful art!
I honestly started out doing a single layer when i first started doing digital art. I'll do it from time time but layers make your job much easier .