08-15-2022, 11:30 AM
I've done a lot of contrast bumping and eyedropping myself, so I'm probably biased, but I don't think it's cheating. It certainly won't allow you to paint like Justin Sweet in a week. Trying to learn by eye alone is probably better, but if you're mainly doing digital painting, eyedropping may actually be necessary to get a really good sense of HSV/RGB/whatever color space you're using.
Also, after you do it for a while, you will have a good enough intuition for it that you'll be able to guess colors more-or-less correctly without eyedropping. So, I say that you should use your own judgement and do whatever seems most practical and helpful for your goals. Almost nothing you do will actually hinder your development. There isn't a straight and bump-less road you can take in this kind of thing.
Also, after you do it for a while, you will have a good enough intuition for it that you'll be able to guess colors more-or-less correctly without eyedropping. So, I say that you should use your own judgement and do whatever seems most practical and helpful for your goals. Almost nothing you do will actually hinder your development. There isn't a straight and bump-less road you can take in this kind of thing.