correct shadow technique
Printed From: Pixel Joint
Category: The Lounge
Forum Name: Resources and Support
Forum Discription: Help your fellow pixel artists out with links to good tutorials, other forums, software, fonts, etc. Bugs and support issues should go here as well.
URL: https://pixeljoint.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=11423
Printed Date: 12 September 2025 at 10:01am
Topic: correct shadow technique
Posted By: davethecross
Subject: correct shadow technique
Date Posted: 18 December 2010 at 10:29am
|
Hey guys, I've known for awhile now that shadows are never black and they are usually some shade of purple, but so far I've just been winging it not knowing exactly what I was doing. Sometimes it turns out and sometimes it doesn't. The result is just random because I'm just guessing at the colors and position. So what I'm asking to all you pros: What is the formula/algorithm/whatever for knowing what color the shadow should be and where/how bright etc. I'm sure there are many factors that would affect this, but I'm just looking for some general rules. I'm ready to take the next step. Enlighten me! Thanks |
Replies:
Posted By: theguy
Date Posted: 18 December 2010 at 10:38am
|
Shadows aren't purple, they're a darker version of whatever surface they're on, if they're on grass it's dark green. They also can be black, on very dark surfaces. You can also use black shadows as a stylistic option too. For a darker atmosphere. Shadows are just what happens when there is a lack of light. There are only two factors, the colour of the surface the shadow is on and the direction of the light source. If your light it coming from the top left, you would have the shadow in the bottom right. It's far more simple than you think. |
Posted By: DawnBringer
Date Posted: 18 December 2010 at 12:21pm
|
The perceived hue of a shadow on a neutral area would be close to the complementary color of the light. In case of yellowish sunlight this would be moving towards a shade of blue (if you ever painted with oil you'd know what amazing depth and realism a dab of ultramarine can give your shades). And I hear classic painters often shifted their shadows towards purple...so you're not really wrong. Besides, dark purple is a very useful color in a limited palette since it can ramp nicely to almost every hue. (The four darkest colors of my Iso-ology palette are all blue and purple-ish) The darkness/contrast of a shadow "simply" depends on how much ambient light (or additional lightsources and reflections) you have. With one lightsource, no ambient light or reflections the shadow would be pitch black. For your average scene the shadow would generally be a darker version of the surface it falls on...just remember to put a little blue in there and it will look a lot better :D |
Posted By: davethecross
Date Posted: 18 December 2010 at 1:50pm
Thanks guys. So, for example, we've all seen this screenshot: I see that it's blue, but why does it go from dark to light? almost the opposite of what you would expect. What is lighting it like that? is it just a method to trick the mind or is that how it looks in real life? Why is there a "normal" shadow on the grass and the blue in the trees? what's the difference? |
Posted By: DawnBringer
Date Posted: 18 December 2010 at 2:37pm
| Not much realism about that, looks more like there's a secondary blue lightsource. I think it's just a way to get some variance from all the greens and an attempt to separate the trees from the grass a bit. |
Posted By: Finoli
Date Posted: 18 December 2010 at 3:21pm
| I actually haven't seen that screenshot :P |
Posted By: theguy
Date Posted: 18 December 2010 at 6:35pm
| Well it's a good job you've seen it now! You get banned for not seeing that screenshot on here. Just hope it doesn't still happen! |
Posted By: Finoli
Date Posted: 19 December 2010 at 5:46am
| I apologize for any inconvenience, master.. |