That time a client said my shadows looked 'muddy' and I finally got it

That time a client said my shadows looked 'muddy' and I finally got it. I was working on a poster for a local band last year and the guitarist told me the shadows under the characters looked like dirty puddles. I was using a dark brown-black mix for everything because that's what I learned in school. He said look at real shadows, they pick up colors from the floor or sky. So I started sampling the actual colors from the background and darkening those instead of using a generic dark color. Now my shadows have hints of blue or purple depending on the scene. It took me three tries to get it right but the difference is night and day. Has anyone else had a random comment from a client fix a blind spot in your work?

2 comments

2 Comments

ross.jessica3d ago

Wait, did you just say you were using brown-black for everything? That's wild. I feel like I've been living in a cave or something.

veraramirez3d ago

Totally feel you on that, @ross.jessica. I had a similar wakeup call when a friend pointed out I was using the same grey for all my metal textures. It's crazy how one comment can flip your whole approach.