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A critique in the comments fixed my lighting forever
Someone said my digital paintings looked 'flat and muddy'. It stung but they were right. They pointed out I was using pure white for highlights. Switched to warm off-whites with a blue tint for shadows. Made a huge difference in depth. Anyone else get a comment that totally shifted their process?
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harper_foster1mo ago
Gonna push back a little here @elizabeths51, not trying to start a fight or anything. I actually disagree that pure white for highlights is always a bad thing. I mean, yeah, if you slap it on everything it looks flat, but sometimes a really stark, desaturated highlight can work for certain moods or styles. Like, a lot of the artists I follow online use straight white for like, glints off metal or rain on pavement, and it looks sick. I get why people say to switch to warm off-whites for shadows, that's solid advice for general painting, but idk, I think there's room for pure white if you use it sparingly. Maybe it's just me but I feel like rules get thrown around too much as absolutes in art communities.
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elizabeths511mo ago
Pure white for highlights? That one hurts just reading it. I've definitely been guilty of that myself back when I started. The blue tint for shadows is a real game changer too. Actually blew my mind a little when I realized how much depth it adds. Makes everything feel less like a flat shape and more like something with actual form.
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