I pick colors I love but the painting always ends up looking muddy

Why this happens

Muddy paintings almost always come from one of two things: blending colors directly on the canvas (which mixes them toward grey-brown), or using colors that are too close in value — similar lightness — even if the hues are different.

FIX — identify which one it is first

1. Tap Adjustments (the wand icon, top menu) → Hue, Saturation, Brightness → drag Saturation all the way to zero. You're now looking at your piece in grayscale
2. If everything in the grayscale version is the same shade of grey: your values are too similar. This is the most common cause of muddy paintings. The fix is making your lights lighter and darks darker — not changing the colors at all
3. If the grayscale looks fine — distinct lights and darks: your blending method is the problem. Stop using the smudge tool. Instead: pick the midpoint color you want between your two colors and paint it as a separate stroke with a soft brush at 30–40% opacity. Build it up in passes