Wasted $200 on a brush pack I saw an influencer use

I saw this digital artist on Instagram using a specific brush set for their landscapes and bought it the same day. The pack was $200 and came with over 100 brushes, but I only used maybe 5 of them in the last 6 months. Turns out most of them are just slight variations of basic round brushes with different textures. The preset canvas sizes were also off for my workflow, so I had to resize everything. I should have just stuck with free brushes from Kyle's or even made my own. Has anyone else dropped cash on a brush bundle that ended up collecting dust?

3 comments

3 Comments

fiona_hunt715d ago

240 bucks down the drain on a "pro" texture set that was just 50 versions of the same rough brush. Always test a free sample pack from an artist first before you drop serious cash.

baker.christopher5d ago

...and that's exactly why I have a folder called "regret purchases" with about 40 brush sets in it. The sad thing is, half the time the free brushes you find on DeviantArt or some random site work better than the paid ones. I grabbed a free chalk texture pack once that was literally used in a major video game, saw it in the credits. Meanwhile I've got a $150 "oil painting" set that just makes everything look like muddy fingerprints. At this point I just stick to making my own janky brushes from photos of my driveway. Costs nothing and honestly looks more interesting.

baker.christopher5d ago

Ha! $200 for 5 usable brushes is basically paying $40 per brush. That's like buying a fancy dinner and only eating the breadsticks. I once bought a "watercolor master set" that promised to make my digital paintings look like real paintings. Turned out it was just 80 brushes with slightly different splatter settings. Could have saved the cash and just thrown my keyboard in a puddle for the same effect. The worst part is when you realize the "pro" artist probably just used like 3 default Photoshop brushes and some smudge tool magic the whole time. But hey, at least our wallets are lighter and our brush libraries are heavier. That's a win, right?