...one digital drawing, either waist or full, and fully colored. I just got done with a commission sample and it felt like it took hours to finished. I wish I could finish pieces more quickly...

I'm just curious how long it takes for people to finish their piece and what short cuts they use when they digitally paint.

I almost never notice the time I spent, tbh. Sketches take me around half an hour (sketchy sketches) to one hour (face defined, ready to lineart). Lineart can take me hours?? I'm not good at doing it so I avoid it; it takes too long :') Base color takes me half an hour at most; simple shading just the same. Painterly shading is what takes me soooo many hours. One time it took me almost 8 hours (I didn't even finish it).

I think I'm pretty slow sometimes;; sorry! I use the keyboard shortcuts (eraser, brush, color picker) and my pen's buttons (panning and change brush size). Gotta say, changing brush size anytime with my pen's button is the most useful shortcut I have.

Sketches I can do in like 5 minutes lol once I get an idea I fly through the design. But to fully finish them it takes me 10 hours or more. I used to be able to finish art very quickly in about an hour but....not anymore OTL Lineart does take the longest for me as well, I am such a perfectionist about it.

For me it depends on how comfortable I am with what I'm drawing. I'm used to drawing creatures, so I can sketch/ink/paint those pretty fast (2-3 hours maybe?), though with humans it takes me a lot longer since I'm still learning anatomy haha.

It also depends on how into I am...I can get really into painting a full body thing and it will take me a good 7 hours as I go crazy with details, or sometimes I'm on a really good roll and can spit out something pretty nice in just an hour or two.

Out of curiosity, what program do you use?

That's good news to hear! XD I heard a few years ago how this one person would knock out a digital piece in an hour and I wanted to have a similar speed...I thought I was the odd ball out and everyone would be able to finish in similar times. Good thing I'm not XD. Now, I just need to teach me to pace myself. I want to finish the piece in one siting but after a while, my back hurts and I get frustrated...XD

SO MUCH orz My chibis already take me around 3-4 hours to finish if I'm in a nice day. As for complex drawings with background and everything, I think it's more like 15-20+ hours. Being a perfectionist sucks sometimes.

When I do digital art, which isn't very often....

I take like days... I blame MS paint... xD

It depends, I suppose.

If I have to do backgrounds? Clean lineart? Ughhh, it can take days. I also notice it varies depending on the program I'm using.

I tend to finish more quickly if I am in a situation where I can't get distracted by the internet, either. o_<;

For me it depends. I can sketch something out within half an hour to 45 minutes or so, but when I start the digital lineart and coloring, it usually takes me several hours at least to finish. I also have a problem with trying to get it all done in one sitting. Which is difficult now because I have a two-year-old and am pregnant with another lol. Sometimes it takes me a couple of days if it's really detailed!

My forum picture that matches my avatar, I did it all yesterday. Sketched it on paper in about 40 minutes, then it took me about 9 hours to do all the digital work!

Finishing a drawing with lineart, color, shading, and highlights can take me several hours, so you're definitely not alone in that. I see where people do an awesome drawing and claim it takes them a half hour; after 13 years of drawing digitally, I still can't figure out how they do it. Then again, I'm TERRIBLE at line art, so that is probably part of it. I use Ctrl + Z a lot. :-D

I haven't timed myself in a while D: I should probably do that...I've gotten slower at drawing recently. (T____T)

My guess of times without background:

• 10-15 minutes total for a sketch
• 20min-1hr total for lines (headshot to fullbody)
• 40min-2hr30min total for colored drawings (headshot to fullbody)

Backgrounds depend on how complex they are.