4RAINYNITE

i got a similar ask about this a while back and i've been working on something to better explain what i mean because i'm not too happy with that guide anymore so i'm just gonna address both here!

in my original post i talk about choosing analogous colors rather than using layer settings, but you guys are asking about multiply layers so let's talk about that since frankly they do save up a lot of time and headaches AND they can help understand color more easily so we can pick the palette from scratch next time.

right, so we have our guy.

in the sunset example, a deep orange multiply layer would look something like this:

however, in my previous guide i said that usually warm lighting means cool shadows. this isn't always the case, however, because the color of your shadows are determined by your environment and bounce lighting. shadows on their own have no color because they're just absence of light, so the color we perceive them to be is what's being projected onto the subject.

this same sunset with cool shadows would look a bit like this:

if that looks more natural even though it doesn't match the orange of the background, it's because sunsets only look orange around the area the sun is in the sky, so the color of the sky that's facing our character here would not be projecting an orange glow onto him.

while it's not a hard rule, like i said, usually warm lighting comes with cool shadows. i think it's also worth keeping in mind that reference photos can look very different from one another because of editing, exposure levels, filters, weather and time of day, etc. so also take your own outdoors observations into account. always observe colors when you go outside if ever (don't be like me)

here's another sunset example except the sunset is now behind our viewpoint and facing the character from the front. he's not fully lit up, perhaps he's standing under something where the sun light doesn't reach him directly. i used a red glow to indicate sun this time only because i think it looks cool with the teal sky:

now addressing the ask with the "pikachu in a green house" example: yes, i suppose using a multiply layer that matches the color of the environment works. after all, like i said up there, shadows will usually reflect the color of the surroundings the subject is in.

this was a lot of blabbing about colors and i didn't even touch on values which is also super important!!! but i'd like to do some studies before i talk about that to make sure i'm not talking out of my ass. hope this helps though!!

⬛⬜ Anyone remember the Cartoon Network cinema bumper that played before the 2002 Powerpuff Girls Movie? Well, how would it look today? This is my take on the idea, featuring characters from all the CN shows that have gotten movies. ⬛⬜

Also, the 20.02.2026 marks 15 years since the creation of my YouTube channel. I'm preparing a video for the occasion and it will feature a lot of my old art (even previously unreleased stuff), so stay tuned. 😊

Danny, over the PA System: Ding-Dong! Welcome to another year Casper High School!

Mr. Lancer: Why do I choose pain?

Danny: First a polite reminder of the Casper High dress code: We strictly prohibit strapless tops, short shorts, mesh tanks, or general h*e-a*s clothing of any kind.

Paulina, looking at Dash: I'm sorry.

Dash: I'm being oppressed.

Danny: Join me in thanking Valerie for her loyal service as hall monitor, she will be retiring this year after kneecapping a student for pooping on the football feild. And our thoughts are with Mikey and his kneecaps.

Mikey: I had to go!

Danny: An important safety reminder: I have authorized the president of the Queer Student Alliance to harm any student being Gay for clout. School Policy is that stupid should hurt.

Sam: *looking smuggly around the classroom*

Danny: To the student smoking a dime bag of Mary Jane report to the PA Room at once-

Wes: *grumbling and standing up to head to the PA room*

Danny: -and bring that stuff with you. I have money!

Wes: *snorts and leave the classroom*

Danny: To the student who started the bare knuckle brawl in the courtyard this morning: I had 20 bucks riding on you, you disappoint me.

Kwan: *pouting while cupping his swollen cheek*

Danny: Will Star Williams* please report to the front office? Your mother is here because she forgot to give you your emergency cheer shorts this morning!-

Star: *blushing as she bolts out the door*

Danny: -Also Tucker Foley will you report to the front office, your mother is here because she forgot to give you a lecture this morning over the amount of time you spend on a screen.

Tucker: Oh come on! *gets up and leaves*

Danny: Finally will Jazz Fenton please stay away from the front office, Vlad is here, his Porsche is in the parking lot and his keys are in the glove box I didn't see you, you didn't see me.

Jazz(acting as Lancer's TA): *smirking as she slips out of the classroom window*

Danny: And to the Teachers petitioning for a pay increase; hahahahahahhahahahaha! Okay that will be all.

Ashley: You know, as far as morning announcements go, that wasn't too bad.

Danny: We will now begin the Casper High Squid Games!

Shezwae Powell

The girl with the dragon boy

This part. This is the part I’m talking about

This is not a woman falling to pieces because her father won’t let her marry a man she just met.

This is a woman born to a life she has very little say in. She has never had a genuine friend (besides a tiger). She is facing a marriage to a man she doesn’t know and doesn’t like but duty (and the law) demands it. So she took a risk, ran away, ran to a world she doesn’t know or understand and when she landed in trouble (serious, serious trouble) a stranger came to her aid. She finally (finally!) made a real connection with someone but they didn’t get much time together before the guards showed up and she had to reveal who she was.

This moment when she’s crying her heart out? It comes after she’s been told that the first person she ever connected with, the first person to be genuinely interested in her for who she is and not what she is, the first real friend she has ever made, was executed… because of her.

Crying is normal. Even if it's over something trivial. We all face a lot of struggles in their lives, whether we acknowledge it or not. Something minor might end up breaking the camel's back.

Anyway, here's one of my favorite scenes in Beauty and the Beast:

Really, none of the classic princesses deserve the misinterpretation.

Cinderella?

Again, this is not after someone told her “yOu CaN’t MaRrY a MaN yOu JuSt MeT”—this is after she went to great lengths to get ready for the ball, adhering to the intentionally difficult (meant to be impossible) stipulations set by her abusive step-mother for her to be allowed to attend (when really she was invited and had as much right as the others to attend). She made that dress (I can’t recall off the top of my head if the classic animated version was also her mother’s old dress she restyled or not but still, she put in a ton of work on top of all the extra house work) and what did her step-family do? They tore to shreds while she was wearing it. Of course she’s lost hope: it’s the final straw after years and years of doggedly remaining optimistic despite constant harsh treatment.

Let’s go to another favourite: Mulan.

Mulan’s just had the worst day.

She tried her hardest to live up to her family’s and her society’s expectations and vision of a perfect bride but she failed. Not only did it go wrong, but she was publicly humiliated by the Matchmaker—by extension, humiliating her family.

Granted, her family has been kind and sympathetic about the whole thing. Her father even goes to encourage her, assuring her of his unconditional love for her and his confidence that she’ll get it right next time.

She’s just beginning to smile when the drums pound and news of war reaches their village. Her father—her beloved father who’s already a veteran and lives with a disability—is expected as the only male in their family to suit up and head out in the morning.

Mulan can’t help. Nothing she says will be listened to and she can’t take his place (until, of course, she thinks of a way to do so which this moment of crying it out in the rain leads to—score one for having a good cry and clearing your head).

There’s of course more. Take any princess’ dramatic crying momentTM and review the context and I’ll bet you’ll see it’s never as trivial as some have framed it. And, yes, like prev pointed out, it’s this awful thing of people believing boys can’t cry and girls can but then they can never be taken seriously.

She didn't deserve to see the things that she held dearly destroyed right before her eyes by her own father. No, it wasn't just about the cute guy she just met. Her family had never approved of her interests and she felt so isolated that she hid them away. Just collecting random stuff that she felt oddly inspired by. Then Triton obliterated it. Her memories, all the care she put into organizing it and keeping it safe—gone. He couldn't accept her passion because it didn't align with his beliefs, so he destroyed it. The ultimate rejection from a parent, the very people who are supposed to love you and make you feel safe.

Or Briar Rose, who she thought she was.

She's not just crying because her aunts/the three fairies told her she couldn't be with this guy she just met. She's crying because she just found out her entire life is a lie. She's not a simple peasant girl living with her eccentric aunties, she's a princess. She's a princess of a kingdom she knows little about, has parents she's never met, she's going to go see them today, they're going to leave their little cottage to go to this castle she doesn't even remember, meet people she can't remember... The 'hunter' she met in the woods? She can't keep visiting him after all, she's a princess and has to leave everything about this life behind her today