Critique on my use of dark backgrounds completely changed my portfolio

A user in this group named Sarah from Portland told me my character art got lost because I used pure black #000000 for shadows. I switched to dark blues and purples instead and suddenly my pieces popped way more. Has anyone else had a single color change shift their entire style like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

veraj531d ago

Funny you mention this because it actually made me think about how colors work in real life. Pure black doesn't really exist in nature. Even the darkest shadows have a hint of color bouncing around from the sky or the ground. So using dark blues or purples is more true to how our eyes actually see the world. That natural feel probably connects with people more than they even realize.

grace_wright1d ago

Oh yeah I've done this before. Dark blue instead of black looks way more natural.

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grantmartinez1d ago

Hold on, doesn't pure black give you way more control over your contrast though? Once you start adding color into shadows you have to manage a whole new set of relationships with saturation and hue. I tried switching to dark blues once and it just made my shadows look muddy and a bit cold, like the whole piece had a weird blue filter over it. Sticking with a true black let me keep my darkest darks completely flat and consistent, and my highlights popped harder because the jump was so absolute.