An example using my main drow character. Of course, angles and lighting help as well, but I've tried a lighter-skinned elf with that face and it was just somehow... off, I guess?
MarbleNest, this design decision is something of a shame. Drow are not "palette swaps" of their surface cousins; a difference in height (and, therefore, proportions?), in particular, is one physical characteristic that distinguishes the former from the latter.
I'm... not quite sure what your point is or why this is relevant to the topic at hand? Nor what the comic pages serve to illustrate?
Just going off of your "they are not palette swaps" statement, the comics already discredit that - Drizzt is clearly different in appearance, skin and hair tone included, from the other elf.
Though even so, I'm just not really sure what point you were making here in response to me sharing my drow to illustrate how a certain face seems to look better when used with darker tones - be them the obsidian swatches available to drow, or simply the darker browns of elf and human.
If it's some personal issue with the tones I chose to use on him, well - that isn't really relevant to the greater topic regarding elven face options, and it also comes down to personal preference. I like those tones for the drow I typically play, though they can always be of lighter shades as well! This is just what I prefer for my own drow characters.
Oh. I wasn't trying to imply that you made that assertion; I was simply rebutting similar arguments before they were even made. Sorry for any potential confusion .