[gaijin]

Ok, I'm working on an illustration that depicts a night scene. The light source is the moon, so... I've made it a cool blue, which means the shadows should be warm.. I'm having trouble picking a warm shadow color that fits well, and I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations for cool light/warm shadow color schemes, specifically for night..

Should I also make the colors desaturated because of the way moonlight affects colors..?
Thanks for any help you can provide..!!

[Frost]

I don't think the colors have to be warm, per se. Desaturating the shadows will make them 'appear' warmer in contrast to the generally blueish tint. Artistic license goes a long way too ... depends what look you want to achieve... realistic, or candy-land artistic... or anywhere in betweeen or beyond. Good luck.

[ October 21, 2002: Message edited by: Frost ]

[balistic]

Also, moonlight isn't really blue. Day-for-night shots on television have conditioned people to think that it is, but it's really pretty achromatic. It's just reflected sunlight, after all.

Warm light/cool shadows is just a quick way to get people doing the right thing 75% of the time, it doesn't work in all cases. In reality, shadows are tinted the color of the prevalent environment . . . on a clear day, shadows are blue because they're receiving scattered light from the sky. On Mars they'd have a warm tint, because the sky there is a butterscotch color.

[gaijin]

Thanks, Frost! That was very helpful.. my shadows look more believable now