Does Paint Dry Darker Or Lighter. The paint will appear darker if it is surrounded by lighter colors or the previous wall color was lighter. Most paints dry darker.
Rely on paint palettes to gauge the final color or you may be disappointed with the your results. If its 10 degrees warmer your touch up paint will dry darker. If you have painted any surface above 10 degrees cooler temperature then the color outcome may be lighter.
However paint with a semi-gloss or gloss finish will make the paint color appear darker.
A one coat drywall flat that is used for new construction will usually dry much lighter whereas a high quality washable wall paint or a paint with a sheen will usually dry much darker. This would also allow you to use whats known as optical grays and get tonal transitions just from varying the thickness of your. Paint dries darker than it appears on the swatch or paint chip. The paint will appear darker if it is surrounded by lighter colors or the previous wall color was lighter.