Is January Rewards 2023 (Rim/Bounce/Ambient Light Tutorial!) worth it if you’re shopping in Drawing & Painting?
Quick answer
| Best for | Digital artists in Procreate or Photoshop who want a low-cost bundle of raw assets, updated brushes, and a specific lighting tutorial to upgrade their current workflow. |
| Skip if | You are a complete beginner who needs a full A-to-Z art course, or if you don’t use Procreate/Photoshop and therefore can’t utilize the brush files. |
| Price | $7 |
| Format | PNGs, PSDs, brush packs, 4 process videos, 3 wallpapers, 1 tutorial |
| One-line take | A dense, $7 sampler of samdoesarts’ January 2023 Patreon rewards that prioritizes practical lighting techniques and up-to-date brush libraries over theoretical fluff. |
What you’re actually buying
If you’re stuck in a creative rut, the problem is rarely a lack of time; it’s usually a lack of the right visual references or a brush set that actually behaves the way you need it to. January Rewards 2023 from samdoesarts isn’t a course that holds your hand through every step of a painting. It’s a raw material drop. For $7, you’re grabbing a specific slice of the artist’s Patreon output from early 2023, packaged for standalone buyers. The core value here is the mix of usable files and instructional video. You get the December PNGs and PSDs, which are great for studying how a pro layers their work, but the real hook is the updated 2023 brush list for Procreate and the refreshed PS brushes. Brushes age; they get buggy or just don’t fit your current style. Getting a curated, updated list from an active artist saves you hours of digging through random brush packs that feel stiff or unpredictable.
The other half of this pack is the video content. You’re getting four full-length process videos. These aren’t just time-lapses; they’re the artist working through their pieces, which is invaluable for seeing how decisions are made in real-time. Then there’s the headline feature: the Rim/Bounce/Ambient Light tutorial. Lighting is the hardest part of digital painting for most people, and having a dedicated tutorial on these specific types of light—rather than just “how to shade”—is a high-value inclusion. You also get three mobile wallpapers, which is a small but nice bonus if you want to keep the aesthetic on your phone while you work. It’s a compact, high-density bundle that respects your time by giving you exactly what you need to plug into your existing workflow. (January Rewards 2023)
Why it’s on our radar
This pack stands out because it solves the “brush fatigue” problem. Most digital artists have a folder full of brushes they downloaded three years ago that no longer match their style or software version. samdoesarts addresses this by including updated 2023 Procreate brushes and refreshed Photoshop brushes, ensuring the tools are current and likely optimized for recent software updates. (January Rewards 2023)
The inclusion of a specific lighting tutorial—Rim, Bounce, and Ambient—rather than a generic “beginner painting” video, signals that this is for artists who are ready to refine their technique. You’re not just getting assets; you’re getting a specific lesson on how light interacts with form. At $7, the price point is low enough to be an easy “yes” if you’re even slightly interested in upgrading your brush set or studying lighting, but the content is substantial enough to feel like a real investment rather than a cheap giveaway. (January Rewards 2023)
What actually matters
Before you buy, check your software version. The brushes are updated for 2023, but if you’re on a very old version of Procreate or Photoshop, you might run into compatibility issues. Since this is a Patreon reward bundle, the files are likely organized by month or type, so you’ll want to make sure you can easily navigate the PNGs and PSDs. (January Rewards 2023)
- Brush Compatibility: Confirm that the “New 2023 brush list for Procreate” and “Updated PS Brushes” work with your current app version. (January Rewards 2023)
- Lighting Focus: If you’re struggling specifically with how light wraps around objects (rim light) or how it bounces off surfaces, this tutorial is the key piece. If you’re just looking for basic color theory, this might be too specific. (January Rewards 2023)
- File Types: You’re getting both PNGs (for reference) and PSDs (for layer study). If you don’t use Photoshop, the PSDs are less useful, but the PNGs and Procreate brushes still hold value. (January Rewards 2023)
- Video Length: “Full length process videos” can be long. Make sure you have the time to watch them, or be prepared to scrub through them to find the specific techniques you’re looking for. (January Rewards 2023)
Mid-check
If you’re ready to upgrade your brush set or dig into a specific lighting technique, this is a low-risk, high-value bundle. (January Rewards 2023)
FAQ
Is this just a collection of random files? No. It’s a curated set of rewards from a specific month (January 2023), which means the assets and tutorials are thematically linked to that period of the artist’s work. The inclusion of updated brushes and a specific lighting tutorial shows it’s organized for practical use. (January Rewards 2023)
Do I need to be a Patreon member to get this? No. This is a standalone purchase on Gumroad. You’re buying the specific rewards from January 2023 directly, without needing a subscription. (January Rewards 2023)
What software do I need to use the brushes? You’ll need Procreate for the 2023 brush list and Photoshop for the updated PS brushes. If you use other software like Clip Studio Paint or Krita, you may not be able to import these specific brush files. (January Rewards 2023)
Bottom line
If you’re a digital artist looking for a quick, affordable way to refresh your tools and learn a specific lighting technique, January Rewards 2023 is a smart pick. The $7 price tag gets you a mix of raw assets, updated brushes, and four process videos, plus a dedicated tutorial on rim, bounce, and ambient light. It’s not a beginner course, but it’s a powerful toolkit for anyone ready to level up their workflow.