So, I was wondering about art.

I often smudge things to look more blended... but does it make it look more blurry?

yes-ish


but what do you think... should artists smudge shit or should they leave it and try to hand-blend it


I pmed 13chillz

idk why but this is going to change how I do art if I don't smudge anymore so I want to know if it will change it for the good

my art teacher told me to never smudge unless you want a smudgy look

If you can't achieve the look you want without smudging, practice, practice and practice until you can get that look

Otherwise you can make your artwork look rushed by smudging

That's my opinion

Hard brush /w lowered opacity + eye dropper =


(literally 5 seconds in pscs so don't tell me "wow but I can see striations" because you have c o n t r o l when you do it by hand so you can reduce them as you want)

That is my preference. You can control it exactly how you want and tbh smudge looks the way it sounds, like a smudge.

IMO you will get a lot better if you stick with the above method.

Well, I never used Smudge Tool when I draw in painting style, but I usually never care about a specific method to make something(in this case a method of using smudge tool to make the drawing more blend) as long as the final result looks good, because I think art is flexible and not like other thing, for example like programming, where there's some certain rules to make the code works. But maybe you will need to work more with it to make it looks better because I think Smudge Tool makes the color messed up.

^ exactly
I'd suggest to blend with a transfer brush

Smudge =/= Blending.
The smudge tool is used to fix issues, like hard pixels in soft shaded areas, though if you are working in monochrome it can be used to blend somewhat to achieve a unique look.

The smudge tool is fine to is so long as you know when to use it, it works well with hair if you use the right settings for example.

If you are working in color, best to follow GnilRettemHC's example.

I guess use smudge when you want to and know how to, I use smudge to blend and blur, to blend light areas, or to create a very soft area to add to it. I guess it depends how you would use it.

I currently use it at a very high strength, so it sort of creates less blurred edges, but rather like drawn out stretch pieces

is that ok ish


thanks everyone by the way, this might change my technique which could help me out.

Eh, smudging is a tool, whether you use it or not is up to you. The thing about art is that there's technically no single "right" way to do it, so basically it's all about finding what works best for you. Of course, not everything works well in every situation (i.e. smudge tool is possibly useful for digital painting but terrible for pixel art), but knowing the right tool for the job at hand is also very useful knowledge indeed. :v