It honestly sounds like some kind of art related anxiety my friend. I do this with eyes. @n@

i have the exact same issue, no solution though nothin has worked for me. ive tried redrawing/resketching, changing canvas sizes, trying in diff programs, trying diff tablet sizes, diff computer monitors, diff settings, diff brushes, vector layers. just dont kno. i just try not to think too hard on it

My advice to you: just move on.
Art is never ready, and mistreating yourself inside about something you could have done differently will not help you.

If you mean just try finishing the piece, I assure you, I do try.
The sensation and urge to reline it is so bad as of late that it is extremely hard to.
If near impossible for me to.
The only time I can really finish a piece is if I am 90% done with the linework, then the itch kicks in. I can ignore it for the last 10%.

Because you probably must be thinking of "perfection", and perfection is the biggest trap in this kind of work we do.
Your art is excellent and I know that you know how to make a good illustration.

It could be as simple as accepting that nothing is perfect; and you put in a set number of hours on it and beyond that you need to let it go. I had to do this with sketching and i made myself set a timer for it. I am SO MUCH happier because of this system. Set yourself a number of (fair not too many) hours to work on lineart and make yourself stop at that point. ^^
It is all up to you in the end <3
hope this helps :D

My issue would be if it takes me longer to line something than my timer gives me.
I really hate half assing stuff. I do horrible with tight due dates, because it stresses me out for that reason. I want things to look great, and done in a timely manner.

Sorry it isnt helpful then ^^o
best of luck figuring out what works for you :D I know youll get there :D

I've had this happening to me in the past, but then I heard another artist's advice, saying that the more sketches you do, the further away you move from the original idea. You lose details and what makes a drawing "rich" (if that makes sense, english is not my main and I couldn't think of another word to describe it).
Have you tried experimenting with new brushes or even programs? Or maybe sketch something you never drew before?

I like the pen that I use, and I'm not sure what new brushes I would honestly try.

I've tried different canvas sizes, to see if that helps, with the brush I like to use that always makes my linework the way I want it. Sometimes it can help, but I haven't been able to pin down a canvas size that works best for everything.

Same with programs as well. It's really hard for me to pick up and learn something, unless someone is there helping to guide my hand. So I'm not sure if I really have the time to learn a new art program when I'm swamped with commissions. Or the right guidance for it.

I understand. I thought I was gonna have a hard time learning how to use a new program myself. But maybe sometimes, when you're bored, you can try other programs and see how it goes! Could be fun.
I recently switched from Sai to Clip Studio, and I feel like I improved a lot, even though I'm still learning to use it.

it sounds like anxiety of a sort to me. unfortunately there's nothing you can physically do to make it easier to line your work, because it's your mind tripping you up. the only way to get past it is to make yourself accept that you've done the best job you can already, that doing it over won't magically make it better, that you're feeling overly critical of yourself and overly hard on yourself and causing yourself to feel the urge to redo them, and then make yourself move on to the next step even while you're feeling the itch to reline it

I do the same thing sometimes, overthinking things and obsessing over things, and then I can end up spending an hour tweaking something and I click back in my history to how it started, and realize I liked it better that way haha. And I just undo everything I've done and obsessed over.

It may be a phase that just passes. It's unfortunate for now, but sometimes when I work and work and work over something, it DOES turn out better. I feel like I learn, both from the mistakes and the successes. It might take some time for me to figure out how to fix something minor that's bothering me, but to me it's worth it in the end, not only because the piece looks better but because I've learned from figuring it out.

That's assuming you ARE happier with the final product. If so, as we learn, eventually we'll "get it right" sooner and sooner and the reworking won't be as frequent or take as long. If you're NOT happy with the reworking, or happier with the originals, like I said... it's hard, but the simplest answer would be to try to "trust" yourself, then, and just let what you've done the first time sit. It's like having an urge to pick at something -- it sucks, but you just have to force yourself not to do it, or you'll just keep hurting yourself.

I know most of my comment has just been relating to your issue, haha. But I hope you can figure something out for yourself!

Good point! I should of stated that I am 50/50 on how I feel about the outcome.

I think my anatomy might be better for my reworking. But. I think my linework isn't there. Like, it's not as pleasing to me. Or I'm satisfied in the moment, then disappointed a couple days later. If that makes sense?

Yeah I can completely relate to that, then. Like I said, it may just be a phase that passes then, or at least "eases" as your hands and mind "learn" what satisfies you, and you can reach that point more quickly. Again it sucks to go through, and I feel the same a lot of the time (like a lot of artists in these comments, it seems, haha), but I truly do believe that whether it works or fails, it's making us better artists in the process. I think part of being an "artistic" person is having that critical eye we can't quite turn off, especially to things we've made.

I'm sure you already know inside, but for what it's worth to someone who can't see the "intent" that might be driving your redoing, all of your art lately has been incredibly aesthetically pleasing, ESPECIALLY in the lineart. It's the one thing I really admire your art for the most, along with your anatomy. You may not always see it, but we do! <3

Oh. I for sure have OCD.
Diagnosed with it a year or so ago.
It is more of a PTSD onset kind of thing though.

It may be that you are being overly critical of yourself. What you may deem to be half-assing is most likely quality work. The strive to constantly improve within an artist, especially a diligent one such as yourself, can be overwhelming. Try going easier on yourself. When I feel this way I tend to let the commissioner (or just someone else) give me their input so I can see the lines with a fresh pair of eyes. Staring at something for hours at a time will skew your perspective.

Good luck!

I recommend doing some sketching in pen and lining with sharpie on cheap or notebook paper. It’s nothing anyone needs to see but it will give you a sense of what lines are workable and what ruins a piece. I kinda treat my digital stuff like traditional in that I only erase a line that I can see right at the moment I’m making it is not right.

Here, perhaps this will help. Try not to freak out too much over it, you are going through a change! https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dkmy3T9.....K1_J.jpg:large

Holy shit I do this too! Something that I hope will finish in a couple days, will turn to weeks because I will stare at it and just redo it over and over because I feel its not good enough. I hate it.

Well, as proven with your recent art, you pour your heart and soul into each work. Maybe too much, but then again it shows. So how about a challenge? Draw the lines for something ONCE. Only once. You can sketch it however many times you like, just to get anatomy right, but once you start the lines, that's it. Only once. No further revisions. Chances are it will look a bit less than your normal quality, but I don't think it will be too much less. As above stated, you strive for perfection. It shows! Your anatomy and the flow of everything is wonderful! However, just this once, be "Sloppy" and post it. For giggles. There will be a difference, but you can see whether your stress is justified or whether you're already superb and are stressing over nothing.

I Have no idea if it would help at all, but one thing I did hear that helps finalize work is treating the work like you're using a pen. in a sense it's just kinda where the line lands and you gotta work with it to make it look good.

on the other hand, the more likely case is that it would just drive you right up the wall with the lines not looking exactly the way you want, which I know Rona goes through with stuff they are working on. It's really hard to say how it would help but I wish you the best and hope you find a way to work through it!

I'm sorry you're feeling flustered hun. I really wish i had some ideas to throw out, but they've all been addressed. So i'm just giving out my love and support <3

Whenever something like this happens, I take it as an oncoming style shift. I hope it resolves itself sooner than later. <3

I know I'm probably going to parrot a lot of people here, but definitely sounds like some kinda loop you're stuck in through some type of anxiety/OCD or something. I find it particularly interesting because you say linework, yet I always figured this was your biggest signature. I never mistake your work, even if you were to show me a cropped body part of just lines I think I could recognize it.

If I may share, I'm going through this /almost kinda/ similar situation right now.
I've done thousands of commissions and I tend to obsess over getting things right as long as I could manage to recognize something needed correction.
The better I got with my art, the more intense this became. I was much more forgiving when I first began, I would tell myself I would do better next time and that years from now, whatever issue I had on the prior piece would be a thing of the past.

But now, as I near a decade of commissions for a living, I've grown less tolerant of my errors. I will obsessively resketch the subject over and over and never be pleased with the results. I binge on tutorials focusing on all types of aspects of art to push myself and figure this would help me.

While it DID surge me forward in some aspects, my new problem is my brain is ahead of what my hand is capable of creating.
So now, my mistakes are twice as blaring as ever and I'm not as relaxed as I used to be on taking it in stride no matter how much I try to ignore it.
And the thing is, I know everyone would probably not even notice or care what I uploaded, but something in my brain now continuously obsesses over "no, this ain't it. Again."

Commissions became a literal nightmare because my old record of completing comms in like 5-7 hours turned into 25-30 hours. Just recently, I closed commissions all together because of this. I told people, not permanently, just in case I break this phase after some time, but right now it feels like it may be.

Sorry if I dropped my issues here, I'm more so curious if it's kinda similar to what you're going with?