5 Easy Hacks To Make Your Art Look Great

Wouldn’t it be great if there was an easy, surefire way to make your artwork look awesome?

Guess what, there is!

And not only am I going to give it to you, I’m going to give you FIVE ways to make your art look cool in under two minutes without the use of Photoshop.

Hack No. 1: BLOCK OF COLOR

Great-Looking-Art-1Notice how a single block of red really makes the character stand out? No need for much else!

Hack No. 2: FAT OUTLINE

Great-Looking-Art-2Again, a cheap trick to make your pin-up really stand out.

Hack No. 3: COLORED PAPER AND HIGHLIGHTS

Great-Looking-Art-3In this case, just a crappy piece of recycled gray paper and a white pencil for highlights. Works every time!

Hack No. 4: DON’T DRAW EVERYTHING

Great-Looking-Art-4Leaving the character open likes this leaves space for the imagination of the viewer. Never underestimate the power of suggestion! Combine with a few faux sketch lines and viola!

Hack No. 5: INK WASH

Great-Looking-Art-5Add a few splashes of ink wash to your drawing for that extra three-dimensional feel. Splatter at will!

Hope these easy tricks to make your character shots look great was helpful. If you haven’t already, be sure to sign up for our newsletter for more practical advice like this.

30 Responses to “5 Easy Hacks To Make Your Art Look Great”

  1. Elias November 13, 2013 at 6:16 am #

    Thanks a lot, you are a very generous person and I get really excited every time I get one of your emails, the one about making mistakes is very encouraging, I thank you a lot and find you as a great inspiration, one day I’ll hopefully show you my stuff and thank you even more!

    Reply
    • Palle Schmidt November 13, 2013 at 12:42 pm #

      Thanks, Elias! Glad you find inspiration and encouragement in what I do. That means a lot. Thanks for your feedback, aprreciate it!

      Reply
  2. nick kypros December 10, 2013 at 10:22 pm #

    Keep up the great work. Thank you. Nick

    Reply
  3. Haris Varajic February 9, 2014 at 8:35 pm #

    Thanks for tips 😉

    Reply
    • Palle Schmidt February 10, 2014 at 9:17 am #

      You’re welcome, Haris 🙂 Glad you found this useful!
      -Palle

      Reply
  4. Chris Barnes February 14, 2014 at 3:37 am #

    Cool thanks for the tips! I really like the color one

    Reply
    • Palle Schmidt February 14, 2014 at 7:30 am #

      Thanks, Chris! It’s all about making the character pop, amazing what can be achieved with just a block of color.

      Reply
  5. Yinka April 28, 2014 at 1:27 am #

    Thanks for the tips Palle! You are becomming my Stan Lee !

    Reply
  6. jason May 13, 2014 at 10:18 pm #

    Thanks good tips. Like the one with off color paper and white highlights. New member and I have been enjoying the news letter. Do you have a Facebook page I can join?

    Reply
    • Palle Schmidt May 14, 2014 at 6:40 am #

      Hey Jason, welcome on board! I do have a Facebook page, just search for “comics for beginners”. Thanks!

      -Palle

      Reply
  7. Jonathan Romp August 1, 2014 at 12:25 am #

    Thank you so much for these the block of color may be just what I was looking for, for my background when I don’t have enough room in the frame to justify all the details.

    Reply
  8. Diego August 7, 2014 at 2:12 pm #

    Thank you very much
    Your web and resources are the best way to enjoy and learn.

    Diego

    Reply
  9. Accoush September 23, 2014 at 7:01 pm #

    Hi Mr Pallet, I love the way you present comics and how simple is your ideas, unfortunately I’ve been trying to draw comics but cannot break through it, do you give really basic courses for drawing, I mean really the basics?

    Reply
    • Palle Schmidt September 24, 2014 at 2:11 pm #

      I don’t have a drawing course as such, but the video tutorials is a basic course in how to make comics. I will continue to give out little hacks and hints like these in the future. Thanks for the kind words!

      Reply
  10. Dorothy November 6, 2014 at 6:32 pm #

    Thank you for the tips! They come in really handy!
    Your e-mails really help me staying motivated! I hope i can send you my comic ons dat to let you see with what you have helped me! Thank you very much!

    Reply
    • Palle Schmidt November 11, 2014 at 11:34 am #

      Staying motivated is key! Especially since you can’t expect any support from family or friends 🙂 Glad you find the e-mails helpful! Thanks, Dorothy!

      Reply
  11. hcir87 November 26, 2014 at 7:51 am #

    I’m making a crime drama graphic novel like you made. you and i have the same taste in crime comics. maybe we could work on a comic together one day.

    Reply
  12. EDEM March 28, 2015 at 6:43 pm #

    awesome tips thanks

    Reply
  13. Don September 17, 2015 at 9:59 pm #

    Hey Palle,,

    nice tips man, thanks i will most certainly use those.

    Don

    Reply
  14. Scitel September 19, 2015 at 8:02 pm #

    Thank you so much for all your wisdom. Every email video is insatiable and helpful it’s like getting a college education minus the 45,000 US dollar tuition a semester..

    Reply
    • Palle Schmidt October 13, 2015 at 2:07 pm #

      Thanks Scitel, I really appreciate you saying that!

      Reply
  15. Plamen October 19, 2015 at 6:53 am #

    Thank you for sharing with us your knowledge Palle!

    Reply
  16. Blest September 1, 2016 at 11:07 am #

    This tips help me a lot, i am making my first ever graphic novel right now, and with your help i noticed that sometimes i waste times on drawing every details. Reading “Devil’s concubine” help me a lot as well. Thanks Palle!

    Reply
    • Palle Schmidt September 22, 2016 at 8:49 pm #

      Yeah, knowing what details matter and where to cheat is a key point in creating comics. Normally it takes years to develop that skill. So if you’re not quite there yet, have patience 🙂

      Thanks for the kind words!

      Reply
  17. Carla November 28, 2016 at 7:38 am #

    I am diggin d fat outline n toned paper… thnks. M glad i opened my mail dis mornin????

    Reply
  18. imijericho941 April 21, 2018 at 7:11 pm #

    If you only own pencils and liner pens, how do you suggest making the splashes of ink?

    Reply
    • Palle Schmidt April 24, 2018 at 6:15 am #

      Well, you can’t, really. I use black Ecoline watercolor for pretty much everything. Ink is pricey, messy and tricky to work with. Ruins your brushes too if you’re not careful.

      Reply
  19. Leyla January 1, 2020 at 8:39 pm #

    Thank you for all the helpful tips, Palle. Ink washes make me happy. I love the transparency of a watercolor-like effect against solid lines. A nice contrast, I think. You can make some really cool effects with them when using color holds too. With the right brushes, it also works for digital art. Thanks again!

    Reply
    • Palle Schmidt January 3, 2020 at 6:27 am #

      I do almost all of my comics work in inkwash these days. Never heard of color holds tho, what is that?

      Reply

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