Caught myself tracing an AI image for a commission last week

Honestly, I was on a tight deadline for a $200 portrait gig and thought nobody would notice if I ran the client photo through an AI filter then traced over it. My friend stopped by and said 'that brushwork looks exactly like every other AI piece on Instagram right now.' That moment hit me hard because I realized I was cheating my own skill to save 3 hours. Has anyone else caught themselves slipping into shortcuts that hurt their own growth?

3 comments

3 Comments

olivia_lopez9819d ago

I started using a crutch with Lazy Nezumi Pro plugins to smooth out my lines instead of practicing steady hand strokes, and it gave me a shaky line addiction for months. The fix for me was doing 20 minute warm up sketches with a real pencil on paper before opening any digital app, no layers allowed. What kills your growth isnt the tool itself, its when you use it to skip the hard parts that build muscle memory.

emma45519d ago

Wait wait wait, you seriously had shaky line addiction from Lazy Nezumi?

ray_sullivan19d ago

Nah I feel that @olivia_lopez98, but I think the hidden trap is using AI to skip the ugly middle phase where you actually learn what makes a piece work. Those botched sketches and failed color choices teach you way more than any polished output.