Heya folks :) So I'm working on finally drawing my comic book but as I was trying to get things moving today, I came across the terrible realization that I CAN'T DRAW BACKGROUNDS! Okay so, this wasn't a realization to be honest. I knew I couldn't draw backgrounds but I thought I would try and gosh darn it I still didn't do well. So I need some advice. How do I learn to draw backgrounds better? Backgrounds being city scapes, buildings, basic bedrooms, inside places, in the park, at the beach, etc. How do I get started? What do you advise?
I would ask someone to do them for me but I mean I think I should learn. Plus, I just don't feel like paying someone to do something that I could attempt to learn...
:D
I need tips on learning to draw backgrounds:
Good question, backgrounds are so hard, I don't do them mostly cause its a lot of work, but knowing the whole 3 point perspective is the key to starting backgrounds. This may sound really corny, but so what, I'm a big Simpson's fan and I found this book at my local books store on how to draw The Simpson's. Not only does it have the instructions and examples of most of the main Simpson's family and friends, but it also shows how to draw places like their home and Moe's bar and Bart's classroom. It's all about 3 point perspective and I found it helpful for some stuff that I started to work on. I'm not doing anything as cartoony as The Simpson's but still, their instructions on perspective was still helpful. D'Oh!
Of all the artists I've seen on here who draw full scenes, I have to say I've liked the approaches Leandro_sf takes. Looking at his early drafts you can see the hints of the background, which is the way to start practicing them. And by the end you see it's evolution into the scene through the drafts.
Om1kron as well tends to do an amazing job at building them from small pieces into these intricate dimensional surroundings.
If I was drawing my backgrounds, I'd be stabbing at it the way these guys do.
" @Crazy Pan: never an easy skill to tackle, in any medium. When done right though in drawing it does separate the regular artists from the stars though :)
Of all the artists I've seen on here who draw full scenes, I have to say I've liked the approaches Leandro_sf takes. Looking at his early drafts you can see the hints of the background, which is the way to start practicing them. And by the end you see it's evolution into the scene through the drafts. Om1kron as well tends to do an amazing job at building them from small pieces into these intricate dimensional surroundings. If I was drawing my backgrounds, I'd be stabbing at it the way these guys do. "
True... Also still-lifes is good practice... Just sit in town and draw what you see... The more you practice, the better you get. Also think about, vanishing points and horizen lines... If you don't know much about those, look it up online. I am rusty at this myself at the momment... You can never practice enough... In pencil with an eraser near by for sure. : )
" @tonis said:very good point on vanishing and horizontal lines. An important ingredient when portraying depth." @Crazy Pan: never an easy skill to tackle, in any medium. When done right though in drawing it does separate the regular artists from the stars though :)True... Also still-lifes is good practice... Just sit in town and draw what you see... The more you practice, the better you get. Also think about, vanishing points and horizen lines... If you don't know much about those, look it up online. I am rusty at this myself at the momment... You can never practice enough... In pencil with an eraser near by for sure. : ) "
Of all the artists I've seen on here who draw full scenes, I have to say I've liked the approaches Leandro_sf takes. Looking at his early drafts you can see the hints of the background, which is the way to start practicing them. And by the end you see it's evolution into the scene through the drafts. Om1kron as well tends to do an amazing job at building them from small pieces into these intricate dimensional surroundings. If I was drawing my backgrounds, I'd be stabbing at it the way these guys do. "
I will always say, every artist, no matter their medium should dabble in photography a little to understand that. Not just the point and clicking kind, but experimenting with lenses, angles, composition. It extends all artistic trades understanding those attributes. Not to mention with drawing it also studies lights and shadows in a way that dramatically improves any pencils one might do, especially with scenery and backgrounds.
" @Xavier St. Cloud said:" @tonis said:very good point on vanishing and horizontal lines. An important ingredient when portraying depth. I will always say, every artist, no matter their medium should dabble in photography a little to understand that. Not just the point and clicking kind, but experimenting with lenses, angles, composition. It extends all artistic trades understanding those attributes. Not to mention with drawing it also studies lights and shadows in a way that dramatically improves any pencils one might do, especially with scenery and backgrounds. "" @Crazy Pan: never an easy skill to tackle, in any medium. When done right though in drawing it does separate the regular artists from the stars though :)True... Also still-lifes is good practice... Just sit in town and draw what you see... The more you practice, the better you get. Also think about, vanishing points and horizen lines... If you don't know much about those, look it up online. I am rusty at this myself at the momment... You can never practice enough... In pencil with an eraser near by for sure. : ) "
Of all the artists I've seen on here who draw full scenes, I have to say I've liked the approaches Leandro_sf takes. Looking at his early drafts you can see the hints of the background, which is the way to start practicing them. And by the end you see it's evolution into the scene through the drafts. Om1kron as well tends to do an amazing job at building them from small pieces into these intricate dimensional surroundings. If I was drawing my backgrounds, I'd be stabbing at it the way these guys do. "
Very true... However it won't help a beginer very much, IMO. It is immportant to learn what you are looking at. You could always take a picture of a city sky-line, and draw all the Vanishing points, and the horizon line. That can be very good practice, just take a sharpie to an old National Geo or something.
Same thoughts go into making it on film as on paper, just different translations of medium. Thinking of it is good practice no matter how you approach it.
Eventually leads to understanding it :)
" @Xavier St. Cloud: oh I don't mean take a picture as a substitute or to trace over so much as the general thinking you have to do to produce a good picture. Same thoughts go into making it on film as on paper, just different translations of medium. Thinking of it is good practice no matter how you approach it. Eventually leads to understanding it :) "
I know what you meant, and I agree with you... I am just saying its good to start with the basics.
All of these are great tips. I personally adhere to all of these in my personal work. When you draw a picture you have the subject matter, the fore goround and background. Like looking through a camera some things will have alot of detail (maybe suject matter), some not as much (foreground due to closeness) and some might just be shapes (really far buildings in background). The futher you get from the center os the subject the lack of detail needs to carry cause there is no way a building 200 ft away will have the same amount of detail as a building in front of you.
Now this is something I am working on that I was actually taught by Brian Stelfreeze when working on sequental art and storyboards. Figure out what you want the viewer to pay attention to. He was showing me with a Spider Man layout so Spidey will be my suject. The scene was of the skrull invasion of NY. Whenever you want the viewer to pay attention to spidey you give him the most notice on the panel and still build a background for himi to be swinging in but not too much where your eye will be drawn to the background and not what you are supposed to look at. A heavily detailed background draws your eye to it cause you start focusing on all the lines and as a art piece its wonderful but for story telling it slows the story down where you might have to go back to it and figure out what just happened. There was also a 2 page splash of the Skrulls invading the city skyline. In those 2 pages there was alot of time taken in working the details into the buildings, getting the light source correct, and not overpowering the pages. But once the reader can see that "Hey they are in NYC" you didn't need to spend as much time putting the detail in every building cause the mind is going to see a building and contect that its NYC with out the detail.
Of course I can go on and on about art and drawing for hours but I'm not going to bore anyone. My advice would be
Work from reference to get the feel for the backgound you are wanting to draw.
Light Source. Know where it is and how it will react to materials.
Don't overpower the main subject. Keep the attention on the subject matter.
You can talk to most artist out there and they will tell you that using pistures as source material is still a must just to get the feel and light right.
I read invincible and there is rarely a background in a lot of panels. LeSean Thomas another artist I like hates drawing backgrounds, so much that he will draw his action shots first, then on a separate piece of paper draw the backgrounds.
I googled two point perspective and watched a few you tube videos of people doing it before I attempted adding a background to my ghost rider picture here.
2 point perspective by *o137o on deviantART
it wasn' to hard to formulate a background after that nor do the signs and stuff.
Ghost Rider "FINAL" by *o137o on deviantART
- I used to feel the same way when I was starting out.
- Backgrounds "seem" to be laborious and hard, but with the right mind-set they can be awesome! Backgrounds are only as evil and scary as YOU make them.
- Draw what you want to draw. Is this your comic right? Hate drawing 3pt perspective cityscapes? Underwater kingdoms? Then don't. Simple as that.
- Think of them as part of the story you are trying to tell.
- Backgrounds are just as important as the figures/characters at times.
- I like to think of my backgrounds like sets for a stage production. I draw "sets" I use over and over again without any characters and dress them accordingly.
- Imagine STAR WARS without seeing the Death Star or the Cantina? Boring. Backgrounds are so important to develop the setting and mood of your story.
- Backgrounds don't always have to be a massive undertaking. Use only the elements that are necessary to set the scene, establish a setting/location...
- Check out these two links to pages from the Disney Comic Strip Artist's Kit for GREAT info about backgrounds & environments (referred to as "staging"): PAGE 1 PAGE 2
I hope a few of these points helped out.
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