How do i ignore details and focus on the big picture"?

[amputator_tots]

In my opinion this is MUCH easier said than done. I'm obsessed with kicking the habit of looking at details though. I have not found any advice or books that speak to me though.

I believe I may be a little OCD, though I dont think its hopeless.


Its so easy to say "just start with thumbnails" "just use a big brush pen."

What if you've already started with a piece and your halfway through and once again you realize you've been wasting time obsessing over pointless details?

What if your work is already halfway done and its hard to ignore messy details that bubble up and stare at you in the face?

[Farvus]

In my opinion this is MUCH easier said than done. I'm obsessed with kicking the habit of looking at details though. I have not found any advice or books that speak to me though.

I believe I may be a little OCD, though I dont think its hopeless.
Its so easy to say "just start with thumbnails" "just use a big brush pen."

To me everything about learning art and improving is game of avoiding bad habits and pursuing good ones. That's why I always prefer to never stick to one process and stay in the move. With ability to quickly to change I can more easily switch from one habit to another. Also working from life gives you chance to focus entirely on process.

Generally it's good to step back and see it small or zoom out very often when you paint digitally (or even keep it zoomed out all the time). You gotta constantly remind yourself about this. Maybe try to make it easier to control. I got for example zoom in/zoom out in my tablet buttons.

What if you've already started with a piece and your halfway through and once again you realize you've been wasting time obsessing over pointless details?

Then you erase/paint over details or start new piece from scratch. It's called "murdering your darlings" :D.

What if your work is already halfway done and its hard to ignore messy details that bubble up and stare at you in the face?

There is some moment in the process when you start adding smaller details. I don't see why you need to neglect them completely. It's just important to have whole composition already blocked in on canvas before you start getting tighter.

[amputator_tots]

Thanks a lot I agree.

At first my approach was mostly large>small.. (I am making a muscle diagram) YEt after I got into the actual muscle texture I veered off. Spent hours fixing the same lines without stepping back.

I think it boils down to slowing down and playing the "neat" game or something =p

er... i mean avoid errors because im trying to be 'loose'. Sometimes i get it in my mind that i should try to loosen up. (Not be too tight and just relax) ... Finding the balance between loose and controlled is a thing for me

[GaussianRaider]

In my opinion
1 Squint: it blocks out a lot of informations on the halftones and it will let you notice the essential more easily
2 When drawing the outline focus on big proportions first and not on line quality or small bumps, once you're satisfied with your big proportions move to those bumps and stuff (try do this by to using straight lines, they really force you to cut out unessential detail)
2 Design your drawing using two values only (the lightest value you can achieve and an average shadow value, that is "white and grey") and don't rush rendering/blending, once you have designed the gesture and the shadows put in the darkest value you want to use (the "black"), then you can worry about rendering.
3 When rendering, simplify the form to basic geometric shapes (cylinders) at first and then render the details.
4 Work making sure that you bring to the same level of finish every part gradually, don't go overdrive on a small area, try to save this for later stages.
Hope you'll find this useful.

[Zazerzs]

yup Squinting it is

work large to small

so if you are going to draw a face start with the whole head shape and volume not the eye

[OmenSpirits]

Contour drawings?

No details in that. Then go for details.

[Two Listen]

The only real comfort I've ever found is to make duplicates. When doing a painting, I find it incredibly difficult to just get down the basic shapes and get a good read on it from the beginning, I always start with the details because I feel like it has more of a system to it.

What I usually have to do as a result, is start with my painting as I normally would, in however much detail as possible - and then do a thumbnail of it later. Usually copying what I have, shrinking it down, and then fiddling with contrast, lighting, etc in the small version thereafter.

I can then impliment those "big picture" moves into the details of my painting. But I can never JUST do that. Always have to do both intertwined alongside one another.

Though, I wouldn't go so far as to say that "the big picture" is NOT details. It is ALL details. The read of the big picture is as much a detailed process as the wrinkles on the forehead or the bouncelight from the jewelry.

[Sascha Thau]

Craig Mullins says:
MORE LOOKING, MORE THINKING, LESS PAINTING

For me a picture is first and foremost about composition and lighting (means colors) than anything else. Or in other words: is it easy to read?

Details or Texture come at the very end and then only to support the composition. I often times see really colorful pieces or pictures with a massive amount of detail but with my first look I also see bad anatomy or that the underlying structure is more or less not very good.

Some artists paint over it with their details and structure. I don't know if they don't know about their shortcomings or if they try to hide their shortcomings - in any case don't do this!

With this in mind I think it is rather easy to focus on the "bigger picture".

What if you've already started with a piece and your halfway through and once again you realize you've been wasting time obsessing over pointless details?

What if your work is already halfway done and its hard to ignore messy details that bubble up and stare at you in the face?

Don't be afraid to overpaint. With experience you know how to avoid this in the beginning. If it happens nevertheless just teach yourself how to do quick layouts of your paintings. If you get professional this will save your life.

Because of all that: MORE LOOKING, MORE THINKING, LESS PAINTING

[vineris]

I found that working with a deadline helps. It's one thing to obsess about details when you have infinite time to spend on a painting. It's another when the thing is due and the deadline comes and you have 2 square inches that look perfect and everything else is a shapeless blob. After you experience that embarrassment a few times, you'll have more of an incentive to avoid that.

[ShroudStar]

Try speedpainting. Give yourself a short limit of time (say half an hour to an hour) to get some kick-ass idea done. You'll find yourself getting in the general forms and lighting done first and building up what they are. If all goes right, your touch-up and detailing will be last. I tend to grab the fattest oil brush in openCanvas and just slop color on the canvas at first. Usually, by the fifth pass, I have a general idea of what's happening. It's helped me to refocus on the overall composition and get away from super-rendering someone's face or clothing.

[Elwell]

Craig Mullins says:
MORE LOOKING, MORE THINKING, LESS PAINTING

Heed the Mullins, for he is wise.

[Chris Bennett]

Try to be aware at any time of the importance of what you are doing within the hierarchy of the whole.
For instance; when you build a house the foundations are the most imortant thing, then the walls, then the structure of the roof, then the fitting of the slates. Next come the windows, plastering the walls, the light fittings and finally laying the floor tiles. If you are plastering the walls and you notice something is wrong with the position of the window then you must drop your trowel and and start figuring out what will sort out the window - and this will mean paying some attention to the wall as well, which will probably involve thinking about the roof. Only when that is sorted can you go back inside and continue plastering.
If you doubt this, try decorating a cake before you have baked it.......
Common sense and commitment to the hierarchy of importance of each element within the whole.