 Hello ! Bonjour ! Today, I want to share with you something I learned about detailing my artworks. It's a set of tiny rules that took me years to get, and to understand, and to apply. It really helps me now at saving time while painting, so let's start. So how it works ? When many similar objects or patterns are next to each other and share a similar color value, it's often unnecessary and unaffective to detail them all separately. Instead, you can merge them all together and only indicates a set of clues for the audience. First clue, small area suggesting the pattern. Second clue, exception in the pattern like darker part or lighter part. Third and last clue, specular light reflection, parts that reveal where the light show the pattern. The audience will reconstruct the complexity of the pattern in their imagination with these clues. Surprisingly, it will also make the picture easier to digest visually. The audience will be more active and involved this way into the process of reconstructing the world picture. And that, even without noticing it. For you, as an artist, this simplification will be a good opportunity to save time. And that's very important. It's also an opportunity to show your brushwork and give a painterly feeling to your piece. Finally, merging details together will help you as a device to manage the density of details in your artwork. You'll be able to push those details where there really matters on the focus area of your painting. For me, discovering that was a big step in my painting process. But that wasn't the case 15 years ago. I was painting every detail and modeling every object. I was describing with a thin brush the boundaries of each stone, each tiles, each leaves on every trees. I was just passing everywhere complex patterns and textures and detailing, detailing, detailing. It was long, not effective, and exhausting. So, remember, do not paint all the details you know. Even if you can model their shape in your imagination, even if you know they are all existing out there, with their textures, with the way they receive light. Leave this approach to 3D artists. As a painter, a 2D artist, you can paint a more effective summary. Just suggest the patterns. And overall, merge details.