Finishing touches with edge control

Every step up until this point can be viewed as "setting up" for this final portion of our project. Newer artists, and even some seasoned professionals, seem to doubt themselves when it comes to crossing the finish line on a piece. How do you know when a piece is done? Are there any ways to ensure that your piece is the very best it can be? What are a few things you can do to give yourself a little more peace of mind, feeling confident that you've done everything within your power to make an impactful piece of art?

While I don't believe there's a "one-size-fits-all" magic answer, I can think of two main things to look for while you're pushing to your final phase of completing a piece of art:

• Control your edges. Make sure there's a variety of hard edges, soft edges, lost edges, and "painterly" edges.
• Find a focal point and highly render that specific area to give contrast to the...