Option 1 -> "affecting" means to influence something, which doesn't fit the context of making a color shade on a palette.
Option 2 -> "creating" means to produce or make something, which perfectly describes mixing colors to achieve a desired shade.
Option 3 -> "adjusting" implies modifying something that already exists, but the context suggests producing a shade from scratch.
Option 4 -> "extracting" means to remove or take out, which doesn't logically apply to producing a color on a palette.
Hence, Option 2: creating -> An artist mixes different colors on their palette to create new shades, and this process of producing the perfect shade of blue would naturally involve struggle and experimentation -> correct