POST USEFUL RESOURCES HERE

[kerm]

Holy shi... smrrfette, that's awesome! thx!

@Swibble:
Actually yes. Stop using black and white. If something is in perfect white environment and is lit with white light, then you can use them more freely but never as a 100% black and 100% white. You will just mix them in to the "thing-you're-painting" color to get the highlights and shadows. Anyway, that gives bleak, boring look and... nature is more complicated. You never have 100% white light. The light has color and it influences highlights color. Shadows get fill light from reflected surfaces which also can have color. In this way shadow will get the color of surrounding environment. What's more, when you have 2 light sources the color of the cast shadow from first source will get the second light color and so on. If you put 100% into your highlights you will get this kind of "burnt photo effect". When you put 100% black into shadows your work will look flat, shadows will dominate it and it will have a not-enough-light-exposed photo feel. Hope this makes sense. :)