Experimenting with digital painting blocking style

Hey fellow digital artists! After my recent experiment with the blocking style, which you saw wasn't entirely 'perfect' in my eyes, I wanted to dive a bit deeper into why this technique is so fundamental and share some additional tips I've picked up along the way. When I started sketching, as you saw with my pencil sketch on paper, I was already thinking about those basic forms. But translating that into digital blocking can feel a little intimidating at first. One of the biggest reasons to embrace blocking, especially in digital painting, is to establish strong values early on. Think of it like building a sculpture, as I mentioned before, rather than just laying down flat colors. By simplifying your subject into large, distinct shapes – like those geometric lines we often use – you're essentially creating a foundational map for light and shadow. This helps you define the form and volume of your subject from the get-go. For example, when creating a portrait, blocking out the head, neck, and shoulders as simple geometric solids helps you understand how light will hit these major planes, even before you add any finer details. This is why many artists start with a grayscale, blocky, low-poly render approach, focusing purely on light and dark. There are a few ways to approach the blocking stage. You can start with value blocking, where you focus on broad areas of light, medium, and dark. This is fantastic for ensuring your painting has good contrast and depth. You might literally fill in areas with only three to five different shades of gray to see if your forms read well in 3D. Another method is color blocking (which many of you searched for!), where you lay down the dominant local colors in large, flat swaths. This isn't about rendering details yet, but about establishing the overall color harmony and mood. I often find myself doing a mix of both – starting with values, then overlaying base colors. For anyone feeling like their blocking looks 'ugly' (trust me, I've been there!), here are a few things that help me: Don't overthink it: The goal isn't perfection, it's form and value. Embrace the simplicity. Squint your eyes: This helps you see the large shapes and value differences more clearly, blurring out distractions. Use large brushes: Avoid the temptation to zoom in or use small brushes. Keep your strokes broad and confident. Reference is key: Always have a good reference photo or object to work from. It helps you accurately identify those basic shapes and values. Flip your canvas: Regularly flipping your digital canvas horizontally can reveal imbalances or areas where your forms aren't reading as 3D as you thought. Practice basic forms: Spend time drawing and painting simple cubes, spheres, and cylinders from different angles. This builds your foundational understanding of how light interacts with 3D objects. Blocking is truly the backbone of a successful digital painting. It's the stage where you solve many of your foundational problems before they become harder to fix later with rendering. Even if your initial blocks feel a bit clumsy or 'half-baked,' know that you're laying crucial groundwork. Keep experimenting, keep sharing your progress (even the 'ugly' bits!), and remember that every stroke is a step in your artistic journey. What are your favorite blocking tips? Share them below!