Why Texture Can Make Such a Difference to Your Digital Art.
Have you ever finished a digital painting and thought, “Something’s missing…”?
Everything might be in the right place. The colours look good, the composition works, but somehow it still looks a little… flat.
Quite often, texture is the missing piece.
Texture can completely change the way a digital painting feels. It can make wood look like wood, fabric look soft, stone look rough and metal look scratched and weathered.
It adds that little bit of life that can make you want to reach through the screen and touch the picture.
And the good news is, you don’t need hundreds of fancy brushes to do it.
Start by Looking Around You
One of the best ways to get better at painting texture doesn’t actually involve your computer at all.
Just look around you.
Seriously.
Look at a wooden table. Look closely at a piece of fabric. Pick up a stone and have a look at all the little marks and variations in it.
Wood doesn’t have perfectly straight lines running through it. Fabric isn’t completely smooth. Even something as simple as a wall has tiny changes in colour and texture that you probably don’t notice until you really look.
That’s what you’re trying to capture.
You don’t necessarily need to copy every tiny detail. You’re just looking for the things that make that particular material look and feel like itself.
Once you start doing this, you’ll probably find yourself noticing textures everywhere.
You Don’t Need a Million Brushes!
I have to admit, this is something I think a lot of digital artists can relate to.
You find a new brush pack and think, “These look amazing. I definitely need these.”
So you download them.
Then you download another pack.
And another.
And suddenly you’ve got hundreds of brushes sitting there, most of which you’ve never even used!
The funny thing is, you really don’t need that many.
A handful of brushes that you know really well can be much more useful than a massive collection.
Spend some time playing with your favourite brushes. Change the size. Change the opacity. Try different pressures with your stylus. See what happens when you change the flow.
You might be surprised at just how many different effects you can get from one brush.
Have a Little Play
This is where I think digital art should be fun.
Don’t worry about creating a masterpiece. Just open up a blank canvas and have a play.
Make some swatches. Try your brushes over light and dark colours. Press harder, then lighter. Make the brush bigger and smaller.
Basically, see what happens.
It’s much easier to understand what a brush can do when you’re experimenting without worrying about ruining your artwork.
And once you find something you really like, make a note of it.
There’s nothing worse than finding the perfect brush setting and then forgetting what you did!
Don’t Just Stamp the Same Texture Everywhere
This is an easy trap to fall into.
You find a lovely texture brush and think, “Brilliant! I’ll just use this everywhere.”
Unfortunately, that’s usually when things start looking a bit… digital.
If you repeat exactly the same mark over and over again, your eye starts to notice the pattern.
Instead, change things up a little.
Make the brush slightly bigger or smaller. Rotate it. Change the opacity. Move it around. Add a little variation to the colour.
You don’t have to make every mark completely different. Just avoid having everything looking like it’s been stamped from the same rubber stamp.
Think About Which Way the Texture Should Go
This is one of those little things that can make a surprisingly big difference.
Imagine you’re painting a character wearing a long cloak.
You wouldn’t normally have the texture running randomly in every direction. The fabric folds and hangs in a particular way, so your brush strokes should follow those folds.
The same applies to wood grain, hair, grass and lots of other materials.
When the texture follows the shape of the object, it helps the object feel more three-dimensional.
It sounds like a small thing, but it really can make a difference.
Don’t Cover Everything in Texture
This is probably the most important thing I’d say about texture.
You don’t have to texture everything.
I know it’s tempting.
You’ve spent ages painting this lovely texture and you think, “Ooh, I’ll just add a little bit more here…”
And then a little bit more.
And a little bit more.
And suddenly the whole painting is covered in tiny marks!
Texture works much better when you give it somewhere to breathe.
Keep some areas relatively simple and save the more detailed textures for the places you really want people to look at.
Think of it as guiding the viewer’s eye.
Layers Make Life Much Easier
This is where layers become your best friend.
If you’re experimenting with texture, put it on a separate layer whenever you can.
That way, if you decide you’ve gone too far, you can simply reduce the opacity or turn the layer off.
You can also experiment with different blending modes, such as Multiply, Overlay or Soft Light, to see how they change the texture.
And if you hate it?
Turn it off.
No drama.
That’s one of the things I love about digital art. You can experiment without having to worry that you’ve permanently ruined the painting.
Try Painting Something Weathered
If you want a little exercise to practise all of this, try painting a piece of old wood.
Start with your basic colour first.
Then add some larger areas of light and shadow.
Once you’ve got that looking right, start adding the grain. Follow the direction of the wood rather than just making random lines.
Then add a few cracks, scratches and little highlights.
And that’s it.
You don’t need to cover the entire thing in detail.
A few carefully placed marks can be enough to make a flat brown shape suddenly look like an old, weathered piece of wood.
That’s the fun part.
And Don’t Panic When It Goes Wrong
Because it will.
Sometimes you’ll look at your painting and think, “What on earth have I done?”
Maybe the colours have become muddy.
Maybe there’s too much noise.
Maybe the texture looks like it’s floating on top of the object instead of actually being part of it.
Or maybe you’ve just added so much detail that you can’t see the original design anymore.
Don’t immediately assume you’ve ruined it.
Try zooming out.
Take a break.
Then have another look.
Quite often, the answer isn’t to add more. It’s to take some away.
You might find that deleting half the texture makes the whole painting look better.
Finally, Step Away From the Zoom!
I think we can all get caught doing this.
You zoom in really close and start obsessing over tiny details that nobody else is ever going to see.
Before you finish, zoom right back out and look at the whole picture.
Look at it at the size people are actually going to see it.
Does the texture still work?
Can you still see the main subject?
Is your eye being drawn to the right place?
And have a look at your original reference again. Does the texture actually make sense for the material you’re trying to paint?
If you’ve found a brush or technique that you particularly like, save it somewhere.
Make a brush preset. Write down the settings. Take a screenshot.
Whatever works for you.
Because there’s nothing worse than discovering the perfect texture technique and then six months later thinking, “Now, what on earth did I do to make that?”
And honestly, that’s probably the biggest thing with digital art.
Experiment. Make mistakes. Try things. Undo them. Try again.
You don’t have to know exactly what you’re doing before you start.
That’s how you learn.