The lines have to be perfectly smooth, every little thing must be shaded, the shading needs to be smoothly blended, and little details that no one will even notice must be tweaked - sometimes to the point where it starts to drain the joy out of drawing.
So this weekend, I gave myself permission to make something imperfect.
I used a spongy, scratchy brush to give the picture a soft, messy, painted feel, and sometimes I deliberately used a brush that was too big just to discourage myself from nitpicking over little details that only a small brush could reach.
I didn't let myself get hung up on realistic plant anatomy (looking at it now, I realize I screwed up the base of the blossom), or take the extra time to make the shading smooth and nicely blended; I just made something that looked nice, and then stopped as soon as I no longer felt like working on it.
I also experimented with the "multiply" mode on Photoshop's paint brush, and will probably use it for more of my shading in the future.
I hope you enjoy this perfectly imperfect little lily.
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