Tried a new brush pack versus my old default set for a character portrait

I was working on a fantasy elf piece last week and decided to test a $15 brush pack from Gumroad against the free set I've had for ages. The new pack had specific brushes for hair flow and skin texture that just clicked. My old set made everything look flat and required way more manual blending. Has anyone else found that investing in a few good specialty brushes actually speeds up their workflow?

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3 Comments

sagelane5mo ago

What kind of brushes were in the old free set you were using? I used to stick with only free brushes for years and hit the same wall with flat textures. Spending a bit on one or two packs that do specific things really well changed my whole painting speed, it's not just about the tools but how they cut out the busywork.

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jessefoster5mo ago

Free brushes never held me back, honestly.

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avery_roberts672mo ago

Hold on, I gotta push back here. I've used NOTHING but the default hard round brush in Photoshop for the last 8 years for all my paid work. If you're hitting a "wall" with flat textures, that's a skill problem, not a brush pack problem. You can do literally ANY texture with pressure sensitivity and a little patience. Spending money on fancy brushes just means you're paying to skip the part where you actually learn how to paint.

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