Help! I lost my work after applying a complex brush.

[Elizabeth5FA4]

I made an interesting art brush out of a picture, and I wanted to apply it to my artwork.  When I went to apply it, it was loading for so long, and then I got a bunch of error messages.  Now all of the coloring and other effects that I did are gone, and all that is left is an outline of my work, but this outline is not what I started with, so I know that it didn't just go back to a previous version of the piece.  Also, I'm not able to zoom in with the trackpad like I was before, and the previously grey background around my page has turned white.  Does anyone know if there is a way I can get my artwork back?  I tried the undo button but it didn't work.  And does anyone have advice about how I can prevent this in the future?  Thanks so much for any help!!!

[Jacob Bugge · Accepted solution]

Elisabeth,

What happens if you Ctrl/Cmd+Y (toggles between Outline and Preview)?

[Elizabeth5FA4]

That worked!  What an easy fix.  Thank you so much!

[Jacob Bugge]

You are welcome, Elisabeth.

Illy (job description Adobe Illustrator) is always very friendly and helpful, but she can get overwhelmed, and then she has to go back to basics to keep everything together; but as you have seen, she soon recovers.

So there is no need to prevent this in the future; just create some more wild things and overwhelm Illy, and whoever else sees it.