For over two years,

I've wanted to produce art, share it here, and say nothing. As you can see, I've already failed at staying quiet. ^{It's not easy to work on something for several hours, then appear to be lazy in the eyes of those who just don't get it.}

^{I Finally Did It}

Post Complete.

^{Just kidding.}

For those who don't know: I produce digital art.

The image above is new and never before seen by anyone other than me.

Everything I produce starts with a blank digital canvas.  It's all done freehand.  My work isn't automated.  It's never just a simple photograph or existing image/push button filter combo.

The style you see above is my own; one of many I've developed.  What I've done here today could be compared to painting on glass, then applying another layer of glass on top and painting that, then another layer, more paint, again and again.

I did something similar with this one below but decided to merge all layers, then blend the colors together by hand, no filters (with filters I lose control of which direction the colors will flow).

^{One Of Those Days}

The next was a combination of merged blended layers and individual glass-like layers.

^{Supper Time}

Next is something somewhat similar to the one I produced today.  This was one of my earlier examples of this glass-like layering technique.

^{Just Because I Can}

Below you can see how I've incorporated this technique into productions that involve more than just swirly colors of eye candy.

^{Wondering What's Next}

Let's have another look at Belinda.

^Belinda

Can you spot any individual layers?

Here's one:

With separate layers, I'm able to alter features independently.  If I mess up or become fussy, I'm able to delete the layer and start over without affecting the surrounding area.

Using layers correctly also gives you the ability to paint under existing layers without interfering with what's on top.

Using this simple image of a lake I produced as an example:

There were three main layers to that image during production.  The bottom or first layer was the water.  Other layers were added to that for shading and detail purposes but eventually merged into one layer.  The trees and reflection became the second main layer.  That sat on top of the water.  The sky layer came last but I placed that layer behind the first two so I could pull the colors down, spray, or blend without getting any on the trees or water.

I know I could have started with the sky first but going in, I didn't plan on producing a lake.  For more complex productions, I'll typically plan my layers in advance.

Anyway

^{If you're into digital art or would like to learn...}

Now you know: Layers are your friend.  Use them.

Also, to any folks out there who think digital art isn't real or consider it to be cheating because it's not in physical form, just know, I'd never consider your comment to this post to be cheating just because you didn't use a pen.

Have a nice day.

Credits:All art and images seen here were produced digitally, by me.
^{"Welcome to my world."}

^{© 2018 @NoNamesLeftToUse.  All rights reserved.}