A comment about my color balance totally changed my workflow

Some random person on a Discord server said my piece looked "muddy" and pointed out my shadows had too much black in them. I was mixing colors by eye and never really checked the color picker. Now I always sample my darkest shadows to make sure they're a deep purple or blue instead of just pure black. Has anyone else had a random critique that actually stuck with you for years?

2 comments

2 Comments

jakewhite21d ago

Nah, I gotta push back on the "pure black is bad" thing. I get what you're saying about avoiding muddy colors but sometimes you need actual black in shadows. I've seen too many pieces where people overcorrect and everything looks washed out or like it's lit by a blue moon. Real life has pure black shadows sometimes, especially in direct sunlight or under harsh lighting. The trick is knowing when to use it not just avoiding it completely. Your eye for color should tell you when black works and when it doesn't, not some random discord comment.

black.margaret20d ago

Grabbed some pure black paint last year for a noir-style portrait study and it was the first time shadows actually felt solid. Mixed a tiny bit of dark blue into the black for one piece and it just looked dead, like the shadow was sucking light instead of holding it. Pure black is a tool, not a rule, and it really only works for me when the lighting in the reference has that hard, high-contrast look. Otherwise I stick with dark browns or deep purples for shadows and save the black for rim lights or tiny accents.