A fellow artist told me my shadows looked muddy, so I switched to a cooler gray tone for shading and it completely fixed my portraits lol

I was using a warm dark brown for months and wondering why everything looked flat, but after that one comment I tried a desaturated blue-gray instead and now the skin tones actually pop - has anyone else had a similar 'oh duh' moment from a simple critique?

2 comments

2 Comments

eric_ramirez6723d ago

Nah. Warm shadows give portraits life. That cool gray makes everything look dead.

dylan_green5823d ago

Yeah I used to work with cool shadows a lot until I did a portrait of my sister under a tree. The natural warm light bouncing off the grass gave her skin this golden glow that just felt alive. Switched to a warmer shadow mix after that and never looked back. It makes people look like they're in a real moment instead of stuck in some sterile room. Even a tiny bit of orange or yellow in the shadows can change the whole mood.