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A comment on my old art changed how I see color now
About two years ago, I posted a fantasy scene here that I was really proud of. Someone pointed out that all my shadows were just a flat, darker version of the base color, which made everything look muddy. They said, 'Try using a complementary color in the shadows, like a bit of purple in yellow light.' I started doing that, and it was like a switch flipped. My art from before that looks so flat to me now. I still think about that one piece of advice every time I start a new painting. Has anyone else had a simple tip that just clicked for them?
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troyknight3d ago
Using a complementary color in the shadows" was the exact same tip that changed everything for me. I used to just make my greens darker for shadows, but adding a little red changed the whole game. My old stuff looks so dead now.
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jakel252d ago
That "dead" look you mentioned is why I still use darker greens sometimes.
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hannah_wells3d ago
Read a blog post that called it "color temperature" instead of just complementary. Honestly, it clicked way more for me thinking about warm shadows on cool objects. My paintings got way more interesting after that.
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