When I first got into design and photography, I didn’t see the point in practicing hand drawing, sketch work, or much “manual” illustration. My mindset was that there surely had to be some automated preset, some special Photoshop brush, or some feature/function of the program to instantly do all that manual stuff.

It really stunted my growth and development for the first 7-10 years of being a designer.

It’s right there in the name “artist”. This stuff is an art, not a science. It’s not rigid, it’s organic, handmade, and flowing from the human. When you watch an artist work, he uses one resource more than any other–time. He uses his time to painstakingly paint the textures, splatter the edges, apply details, and highlights.

There is no shortcut, there is no one-click solution, and there is no way to replicate the analog nature of what comes from your hand. You have to use your hands to create, not the software. The software may be a tool, but always let it be a tool in your hand.

The artist’s shortcut is not a button click. The artist’s shortcut is recognizing early in life that there is no substitute to sitting and working for hours to create something amazing. You will save years as soon as you realize that.