Background art - any tips?

[Alexan]

I'm working through the planning stages of a webcomic, and one of my worries is background art.

I could see myself either spending too much time on the foreground/characters/dialogue and all but neglect the backdrop, or else spending too much time on the scenery in addition to everything else and burning out on comic-making altogether before I get very far.

I don't have a link to show off since I haven't started the 'actual' work yet. If it helps, though, I will probably hand draw on paper, then scan, and cel-shade on the computer.

I guess what I'm looking for is any useful anecdotes, bits of wisdom, time-saving strategies, or sage counsel.

Thanks in advance.

[VinnieD]

Backgrounds are challenging but here's a tip. You don't need a background in every panel. Go look at some of the more famous webcomics and even paper comics. You probably remember backgrounds in every panel don't you? Look at one panel alone, from around the middle of a strip and you'll see it's really just a splash of color, tone, or pattern. Just put in an establishing shot at the start of the scene, and then you only need to draw the background when it either changes, it's been too long without one, or if there's some interaction with the environment. The mind fills in the rest since after the scene is established the characters become the focus.

As for how to draw them. That's the hard part. You can try books or taking classes but there's no easy means of explaining the rules of perspective without typing out a text book, and in comics converting traditional perspective to something that agrees with the art style, so that it doesn't look like cartoons overlaid on architectural drawings is even more challenging.

[Alexan]

Thanks for your reply. That makes a lot of sense. I've been looking more closely and even the comics that do have "backgrounds" in every panel, it's very simplistic outside the establishing shot. Some dispense with them altogether in close up shots.

I've been drawing for a while, so I think I have a decent handle on the technique (perspective, lighting, etc), at least for someone just starting out. I've also been digesting all the material I can find including Joel Fagin's tutorials and Scott McCloud's book. And the more fun 'research' of reading well-done comics. Mostly I'm worried about making sure I stay motivated to stick with it once I start...

[Kramerthebird]

Background art can be time-consuming, but if you feel you have to cut corners somehow, please don't do it by pasting your characters in front of a photograph. It never looks right, no matter how many photoshop filters you run it through. Way too many webcomics try to pull this off, including a few that are otherwise very well drawn.

[Warofwinds]

My biggest tip for backgrounds is to, as often as possible, have a photo reference. Since you don't have link for me to check, I don't know what style of art you plan on using for your comic. I personally take a realistic approach, and spend a LOT of time of backgrounds, because in a fantasy world, that can make or break your suspension of disbelief. Comics that rely more often on caricature or "cartoony" don't need backgrounds in every panel, and as has already been said, often don't need more than an establishing shot.

If you're going for realism, my second piece of advice is to pay a lot of attention to distance. Far off, and close-in shots need far less detail than mid-distance, because things are out of focus.

A couple examples on my end, establishing shot, gradients, and close-up shots in each: 1, 2, 3.

[Redtech]

I find that drawing a schematic (architect style) of the scene is a good way to at least know where to put things. The more detail the better (one of my failings I'm afraid) but I feel that if you can at least say where things are in realtionship to each other, it's a bit easier to do them.

One thing is you can be selective on what you show and when. I've yet to draw a wall in detail, but have many, many windows!

[Cxm]

You can get some decent results by skimping on detail most of the time, so long as somewhere you put in the background detail to show what something looks like. People have a habit of filling in the blanks themselves. Background and landscapes are a big weakness of mine, so I tend to spend extra time on panels that establish where everything is and then pay little mind to background detail afterwards.