I just made a mistake.

I've been doing some artwork in this style:

I decided I was going to have Celestia's cutie mark in the background, with a gradient from yellow to pink. Of course, you can't just trace the outline and fill it, because you're adding more than one colour. Thus I started the painstaking process of picking a colour, drawing the segment that I wanted in that colour, filling the area so there are no gaps, and choosing a colour that was a slightly different hue but close enough that it didn't look like there was one massive block of colour after another. It took me over an hour to complete, and the hardest part was making the colour changes - for lack of a better word - smooth. Looking at it now, I can tell there's a few parts where the change in hue is too large, and I'm going to have to go back and change that, which might take a while as well. The part of the project I though would be wrapped up in half an our is likely going to be at least three times that long.

Has anypony else ever underestimated how long/difficult a project is going to be?

7412581
It's never the bits you think will take the longest that actually do.

Though, with gradients, in Clip Studio Paint, I usually use gradient layers and a mask. You see, what I do is paint the bit that needs to be a gradient on one layer in one color, then I add a gradient layer, and hit the "Clip to Layer Below" button, and it masks it so the gradient is only showing on what you painted on the layer below. You can still paint more on the layer below if you need to, and with gradient layers, you can tweak the gradient later if you want. (I usually use that for eyes...)

Mind you, that's Clip Studio Paint specific, but you can probably do similar things in other programs...

--Sweetie Belle

7412581
I know, I have the same when I draw cakes
https://www.deviantart.com/niclove/gallery/37147105/b-day-and-ordered-cakes