Are you starting your digital art journey and want to avoid common pitfalls? Today, we’re diving into five mistakes beginners often make in digital art—and how you can fix them! Whether you’re creating illustrations, surface patterns, or hand lettering, these tips will help you improve your workflow, save time, and elevate your artwork.
Watch the Video
If you’re a see it on “paper” person, keep reading below. Otherwise, check out this quick video tutorial in my new iPad Art Break Series on Youtube:
The mistakes
1. Working on a Small Canvas Size
A common beginner mistake is creating artwork that’s too small, like working on a 3×3-inch canvas at 150 DPI. The problem? Your artwork becomes unprintable at larger sizes.
How to fix it:
Always start larger than you think you’ll need—both in dimensions and DPI.
Use 300 DPI or higher for print-ready quality (I often use 600 DPI for extra flexibility).
Plan your canvas size based on how the artwork might be used, whether for prints, fabric, or greeting cards.
Another issue is working at unusual sizes, like 2×10 inches, which are rarely useful for practical applications. Cropping to odd dimensions makes it harder to sell your work or use it across multiple platforms.
How to fix it:
Use standard sizes for common products (e.g., 6,000 x 6,000 pixels for repeat patterns).
Research the sizes your target clients or platforms need (e.g., greeting card templates or puzzle layouts).
If you’re working with vectors, you have the advantage of resizing your designs later without losing quality.
Disorganized layers, file names, and storage systems can create unnecessary stress when making updates or fulfilling client requests. Have you ever spent hours searching for the original file because someone asked for a minor change?
How to fix it:
Use clear naming conventions for your layers and files.
Organize your projects by date or collection.
Store backups in the cloud to avoid losing work. I personally love Dropbox, but any reliable cloud storage works.
4. Trying to Make Everything Perfect
When digital art became popular, many artists focused on creating sleek, perfect designs. But with AI excelling at “perfection,” there’s now a renewed demand for gritty, handmade, and human artwork.
How to fix it:
Embrace imperfections. Add textures, experiment with loose strokes, and keep things playful.
Create your own brushes and textures to bring a personal, handmade feel to your art.
While sleek styles are still valid, consider leaning into the current trend for tactile, organic designs.
5. Relying Only on Raster Files
If you only work with raster files (like those created in Procreate or Photoshop), you might run into issues when clients request vector files for scalability. Vectors allow you to resize designs without losing quality—essential for licensing or client projects.
How to fix it:
Learn vector basics using tools like Affinity Designer or Adobe Illustrator.
Even if vectors aren’t your focus, understanding them ensures you won’t miss opportunities when they arise.
Not sure where to start? Take advantage of my Free Affinity Foundation class to learn vector basics.
make it professional!
Mistakes are part of the learning process, but addressing these five issues early on will set you up for success in your digital art journey. Don’t forget to subscribe for more tips and resources. Happy creating!
Affinity Designer Foundations
- Learn how to vectorize your patterns so you can scale them to any size
- Create professional patterns that licensors ask for in any file format that you need
