Hey guys.. 🖤

I've been trying to get back into the CW creation scene but my few attempts got me kind of discouraged though I really want to get back into it. I work on my iPad, on Photoshop and iPad Photoshop. Sometimes I will make adjustments on pc Photoshop. Basically I have issues with outline and organizing layers. I end up adding details on new layers because it somehow doesn't work out on the original layer of that area and It ends up causing issues with recoloring (like my Kitsune mask). Also I'm extremely bothered by the fact that I can't make the outline gentle and smooth (especially for eyes). I have so many ideas and every times it just ends up messy. I'm not asking for a private lesson, maybe some tips and encouraging words to help me not to give up. I have many items I wanna finish and add them to my shop ( I have like 3 items there). I've seen the official tutorials on the site and it somehow doesn't work out for me because of the layers mess I end up doing.

It's all less about the rules of and item to be accepted because I went through with that with the previous items and I learn from that.

If you have some encouragement words and/or tips to thrown my way I will be grateful and thank you for giving some attention to my post. 2 bat points to you 🦇🦇🖤

What program are you using to work with. It may help you get some more tailored help if artists know tips and tricks and advice for that program :)

Oh! You’re right, I’ll add that to the main post. Basically I made my items with Procreate/Photoshop on the iPad. Sometimes I make adjustments on pc photoshop. :x

Hopefully you're able to get some advice now! Unfortunately I don't use any of those programs (I use Paint Tool Sai), so I don't have any specific program advice.

Some general advice I have though, which may or may not apply to your situation is:

If you are having difficulty with the rhythm of keeping your layers clean it may help to have multiple saves of a file. For example having a save file that is just lines, or a save file that is the finalized version of the item that you don't do any editing to, but instead make copies of and work on edits in the copies.

The second bit of advice pertains to the way files save in programs like Photoshop (or at least did, it's been about 7+ years since I stopped using it, so it may be better now) but I found that sometimes my work was coming out weird with the following two problems.

1. Non-simply divisible file sizes. So for example, Subeta's item images are 64x64. It helps to always work in file types that will easily divide down to that. So 128x128 (which is my preferred size) or something like 192x192 / 256x256 (I wouldn't advise working any larger than this, as it can absolutely eat all your hard work. TBH the smallest you feel comfortable working with, the better.) If you do have files in sizes that are non-simply visible, there is a fix though. And I'll explain that with the second problem.

2. Make sure to merge your images before resizing them down. This will make sure that all of your layers line up completely. I recommend if you are not used to merging files, to make a copy of your file FIRST and then merge and resize on the copy. That way you still have all your layers and not just a merged image if you accidentally save over the psd. If your image does not follow the non-simply divided rule in the first bit, then you need to make it easily divisible before going to final size. So let's say your file is 300x300. I would recommend merging your layers and then resizing to 256x256 and then down to 64x64. This should cause the least amount of tearing. When doing this, only go down to the closest simple division to retain as much of your images information as possible. (So don't take that 300x300 down to 128x128, as it will eat a lot of your info and not look as good as possible at resize.)

I hope you're able to find lots of good info with your thread that makes your CW adventure more fun and enjoyable!