Diagnose / Causes / Finishing
Finishing mistakes
Final stages, protection and presentation.
- Dust smudging and falling pastelPastel. Loose powder cascades down the work surface whenever a stroke is made. Rescue
- Smudged, dirty paper from dragging the handPencil. Dirty grey smears, fingerprint trails, and muddy blurs appear across the white margins and lighter areas of the paper. Rescue
- Smudging when ink is not dryInk. Fresh ink strokes have been dragged into long, unwanted smears across finished areas. Partly
- Blurry output from low canvas resolutionDigital. Lines show visible pixel stepping and brush strokes appear blurry or blocky along their edges. Partly
- Charcoal portrait smeared during work from top to bottomCharcoal. Cleanly rendered areas near the top or middle of the portrait show grey streaks, smeared contours, and grubby handprints created as the drawing progressed. Rescue
- Pencil lines showing and smeared under glazesWatercolour. Dark graphite lines remain clearly visible beneath transparent colours, locking the painting into a stiff framework. Partly
- Stopping too early because it looks fine in the phone photoAny medium. The physical artwork appears faint, lacking rich darks and crisp details, despite reading clearly when photographed. Rescue
- Uneven gloss after varnishingAcrylic. The surface exhibits an irregular sheen when viewed from an angle. Rescue
- Framing wrongly: cropped or overmattedAny medium. The outer border of the frame or mat cuts directly into the subject matter, leaving no margin for the composition to breathe. Rescue
- Varnishing too soon causes cloudinessOil. A cloudy, milky haze covers portions of the varnished painting. Partly
Other causes
- ObservationDrawing what you think exists instead of what you see.
- MeasuringProportion, angle and placement errors that checking would catch.
- MaterialsPaper, paint, tools and how they behave.
- Drying and timeWaiting, layer order and drying behaviour.
- CompositionHow shapes sit on the page.
- ColourMixing, temperature and saturation.
- EdgesHard, soft and lost edges.