My art teacher said to never use pure black for shading

I ignored that for years, but trying it on a portrait last week made the shadows look way more natural. Has anyone else had a piece of advice they fought against that actually worked?

3 comments

3 Comments

val_williams2mo ago

Same with "use a bigger brush," it felt wrong but works.

claire_hart532mo ago

Totally get what @val_williams means about the bigger brush thing. I fought that advice for years, thinking details needed a tiny brush. Forced myself to try it on a landscape and it completely changed how I block in trees and clouds. It forces you to focus on the big shapes first, which is honestly the hardest skill to learn. That "draw what you see" rule messed me up for ages too, especially with drawing hands.

lily702mo ago

That rule about black is so true for portraits! Skin tones have a lot of color in the shadows, so mixing a dark brown or deep purple works way better. I used to hate hearing "draw what you see, not what you know," but it finally clicked when I stopped drawing symbolic eyes and actually looked at the shapes. Some advice just takes a while to sink in.