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Started adding just a tiny bit of blue to digital paintings after failing commissions for months
Been doing digital art on the side for like 3 years. Kept getting feedback that my colors looked "muddy" or "flat" on prints. Tried all the tutorials about color theory and stuff but nothing clicked. Then last winter I was working on a portrait commission for a client in Portland and she mentioned her favorite paintings had this cool undertone. On a whim I threw maybe 5% blue into my shadow layers. Completely different result. Colors popped, skin tones looked real, client was thrilled. Has anyone else found one dumb little tweak that changed their whole workflow?
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the_claire3d ago
Oh I have to gently push back on the "5% blue" thing. You probably mean 5% of your shadow layer's opacity or something, right? Because 5% blue in the actual color mix (like if you're adding it to your RGB values) would be way too subtle to notice. But man, I totally get what you're saying about the general idea. I had a similar moment when I realized I was using too much pure black in my shadows - swapped it for a dark navy instead and everything just worked.
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evan_davis3d ago
Wait are you saying you literally mix the blue into the paint or just use a blue tinted layer on top? Because I've been messing with something similar in Procreate where I add a TINY bit of cyan to my shadow brush and it gives this weird glow that pure black never does. But 5% feels like it would barely register on screen. Have you tried bumping it up to like 8-10% and seeing if the whole thing gets muddy or if it actually pops more?
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