My art teacher said to never use pure black for shadows

In my first digital painting class, my teacher in Portland told me to mix dark blues and purples instead of using the black slider. I tried it on a portrait last month and the shadows looked way more real, like they had depth instead of just being flat dark spots. It took three tries to get the mix right, but now I never go back to pure black. Anyone else get a color tip that changed their work?

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3 Comments

riley_reed5mo ago

My old painting instructor in Seattle called it "dead black" and banned it from her studio. I started using a mix of burnt umber and ultramarine for my darkest darks and it completely changed my landscapes.

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laura2115mo ago

That "dead black" rule reminds me of my pottery teacher who hated pure white glaze. She made us mix a tiny bit of cobalt into the slip to give it life, said straight white looked like bathroom tile. It really did make a difference in the finished pieces.

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michael8955mo ago

My photography teacher had the same rule, but my first attempts just looked like I'd spilled ink on a blueberry.

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