Atmospheric Effects: Art is in the Air!

Sky Blue: The sky has two gradations at play during midday, Solar glare, and Horizon glow. each one makes a gradient from lighter blue to true sky blue from each of their respective sources (the sun and horizon)

Atmospheric Perspective: Dark and shaded colors seem to get grayer/bluer and details seem hazier and more muddled as they move away from the vantage point. Whites start to cool in hue, but will stay visible the longest while the dark and shaded colors blend together, nearing the hue of the sky. Clouds will usually have a warm color to them at midday.

Reverse Atmospheric Perspective: Reverse, in the idea that when the objects get further away, they don't turn cooler colors, but they turn warmer. These effects are most noticeable during looking toward the late afternoon sun on a misty or dusty day.


Golden Hour Lighting: This happens when the sun is especially low in the sky. At this time the rays of light have more atmosphere to go through than when the sun is directly overhead. This causes the the scattering of more blue wavelengths, so the sky above becomes and even richer blue than normal. The actual light itself is weaker and more orange/red overall. Forms lit by the setting sun take on a more golden color and the shadows are always really intense blue. In the sky near the sunset there is a noticeable transition from the "hyper-vibrant" blue to yellows and reds. Both chroma and value are more intense in the region of the sun itself.

Sunsets: Sunsets present an infinite variety of colors because the sun is interacting with so many different layers of air, dust, and clouds. The dustier or moister the air, the more rich the colors are in the sunset. Sunrise is usually less red and orange and more pink because of the lack of dust particles from the world being settled at night. If there are clouds present, the higher clouds are struck with whiter light, while the lower ones receive more orange and red light from the sun setting. The sky slowly gets dimmer and redder as the sun closes in on the earths horizon line.

Fog, Mist, Smoke and Dust: In foggy conditions, the fog itself will diffuse the light from the sun, and make the shadows less harsh, it will also light the shadows more, therefore adding to the effect. This same reason is why things further away from the viewer seem to fade as far as hue are concerned and eventually just appear as grayed silhouettes in the foggy white.
 
Rainbows: The colors of a rainbow should always be lighter than the background. Generally speaking the center of a rainbow, or the antisolar point, is located in the direction that the scenes shadows are falling. Rainbows should appear transparent/translucent and only add to and compound with the colors that fall behind it.

Skyholes in Foliage: Trees almost never offer a solid silhouette, they usually have several skyholes that poke through the mass of leaves and branches. Small skyholes usually have twigs and smaller leaves obstructing them, therefore letting less light through, this means that smaller skyholes should be painted in a slightly darker value than the actual sky behind. Not all foliage is opaque, some foliage, like willow leaves or palm fronds, are partly or mostly transparent, and that detail requires attention for accurate representation.

Sunbeams and Shadowbeams: Made visible in super misty or dusty conditions. Rays of light only are visible in two instances: 1. When the light source itself is blocked enough that the sky or backdrop is darkened enough for the few rays of light that do make it through to show up against said darkened background or sky. 2. In extremely misty, smokey, or dusty situations while the actual light source mostly blocked. Colors behind the sunbeams are also brighter, warmer and almost flushed out.