7. Colors and contrast

So yeah, now we've gotten past all the shading and shaping and what not. Now we're going to do COLORS. "But Shook, colors are an integral part of shading!" That is true, but there are a few big details that need to be addressed. For one, the darker shading actually looks really good if it becomes more blue. Allow me to illustrate, first with a red, bendy pipe:



This one DOES NOT have blue. Now let's compare to this one:



Alright, bad example, but you get the idea. Let's try again, this time with a green cylinder:



It's tricky business, and i'm not very good at it, and i don't really do it all that much. When done right, however, it looks really nice. You should experiment with it!

Anyways, my lack of color knowledge aside, let's go over to contrast. Contrast is a bit of a double-edged sword, because if you either overdo or underdo it, it hurts the quality of the image. Worth noting is that it's far more common for people to underdo it (yours truly included). Let's see an example of too little contrast:



A hammer. I've shaded it fully, as you can see, but the shape doesn't really stand out, and the whole thing is just way too dark. Let's brighten that shit up.



Hey, we can see it! Cool. But err... It's still flat. Contrast isn't just about making the whole thing lighter, you also need to make some things darker. Or in this case, keep them dark.



Just right now. The lit parts are bright, and the shadowy parts are dark. That's how it should be. Tiny color differences don't really make themselves noticed, and can sometimes be omitted entirely. HOWEVER, it is also possible to overdo contrast, which i will show you now.



OH MY F-
But i want you to notice something: It doesn't actually look all that bad. So when it comes to contrast, better have too much than too little. In case you couldn't really follow, let's go with a much more basic example done quickly. Namely, a cylinder with four colors:



First one kinda looks like a cylinder, but it doesn't really stand out. Second one is how i'd usually do it; enough contrast to clearly show the shape, but without leaping in your face and punching you for attention. Which is what the third one does. It's an entirely viable way of doing it, but it might become painful to look at if you have a big image with that much contrast. Keyword "might". I usually go with a medium amount of contrast, because i find it hard to make strong contrast look smooth. It's a matter of taste, really, but most of the greater pixel artists agree that contrast is good. (FYI i don't see myself as one of the greater pixel artists but i agree with them)

Also, addendum by crazyMLC. Be sure to check it out.

I guess that's about it, unless you have questions/corrections. (nudge nudge MLC!)