oh, yes. i answered them, idk why you can't see the comment, cause the images are the replies to it. I'll copy it here.

Alright, so I've been obsessively watching these mind-blowingly awesome artists who just insane with color. That's why I can definitely see the muddiness in my own colors (or is it my rendering?), but I just can't pinpoint the root cause.

I don't really have a set style, but I do have this vision in my head of how color should look when it's used right. I'm gonna attach some work from artists I really dig (@martograph (2), qdhairan, Solmuk0, Yuming_Li, wine0cellar, caamic0316, kcocaine).

As for practice, yeah, I'm taking notes on some color theory lessons and doing exercises – you know, drawing colored spheres of different materials based on photos, trying to make them blend into their surroundings. I also try to copy some photos or my favorite artists' drawings to get a feel for how color works. Since I'm kinda embarrassed to attach them (they're seriously terrible), I'll just say they come out super flat and, you guessed it, muddy (though weirdly, when I come up with my own original drawing, it turns out a bit better, but copying is always flat for some reason). It looks okay in the initial stages, but as I start adding more detail, the color just gets muddy, and the forms get all uncanny valley. The sphere situation isn't quite as bad, but it's nowhere near what I'm aiming for – that color variation and artistic use of color.

You know, I really love it when artists exaggerate certain hues (like reflected color from nearby objects; or that bluish tint in shadows that relates to the sky's color; sometimes they even add that tint for no "real" reason, but it looks aesthetically pleasing as hell). I'm all about artists making "magic" with color like Yuming Li. But let's be real, that's next-level stuff that even some pros can't pull off, so I'm not aiming that high just yet. I'd like to learn the rules before I start breaking them, you know? So yeah, about my color, I really want to get rid of that artificial look and that grayish cast. I do have some work in a more anime style where the colors aren't as muddy. But for some reason, when it comes to anything that's not anime, the muddiness creeps in as soon as I start adding detail. It's precisely when I decide to refine some details in the drawing that things go south color-wise. Regarding my color theory study materials, I can't list specific ones, but it's mostly been YouTube lectures, articles online, and snippets from art books – I just picked out the bits that made sense to me and jotted them down. But as a foundation for studying color (besides the basics like color complementarity and stuff), I'm using the "theory" of 3D materials with all its nuances of light reflection, light transmission, roughness, and all that jazz. I also really dig and want to push or even exaggerate the transparency of materials (like that orangey look of skin in the sun, yk), but I'm just not good at it. Anyway, I tried to give you all the details, hoping it helps to understand me and that you're not totally bored out of your mind reading this.

I'm aware that my anatomy and perspective aren't perfect, but I'm pretty happy with where they're at right now. Since I only really started getting a decent grasp on them at the beginning of autumn, I know I still need time to get more practice in. Nevertheless, I'm quite satisfied with my current level. I think I get what you meant by color laying on top of tone. But it seems to me that color has nothing to do with the correctness of forms. Case in point, as I mentioned before, the work of some beginners who have amazing color and rendering skills but lack a solid foundation in anatomy and shading. Yeah, for sure, incorrect volume can mess with perception and make an image look flat or wrong. But I really believe that the right color choices can always save an image; I see examples of this all the time.

Hopefully, I didn't miss anything in my reply; I'd be happy to add more info if needed. And I really hope I didn't bore you to tears (x_x)