I finally asked a digital artist about their process at a gallery show

At a small gallery in Portland last month, I saw this piece that looked like a photo but was actually all digital painting. I asked the artist how long it took, and she said 'about 400 hours over 6 months.' Has anyone else ever talked to an artist and realized you had no clue about the work behind their work?

2 comments

2 Comments

leo_carr131mo ago

Whoa, 400 hours is wild. Did she say if that was mostly on the initial blocking of the scene or did she spend ages on tiny details like the lighting or textures? I'm always curious where the real grind is in digital art compared to traditional painting.

dixon.amy1mo ago

She said the lighting was actually the biggest grind, she spent around 200 hours just tweaking the global illumination and texture maps. For digital work the block-in goes fast but getting those light bounces and surface details right can double your time easy. If you set your lighting pass with a timer from the start it helps keep you from getting lost in tiny adjustments.