10 | 20 | 40 | 60 | 80 | 100 per page
Oldest First | Newest First

The "I Hate Backgrounds" Game

Because backgrounds are so important, and because I'd like to help as many artists as I can to get over the innate resistance we all seem to hold at first towards drawing backgrounds, I thought I'd start a new kind of game. One that I hope will help encourage and inspire people to not only draw backgrounds, but enjoy drawing backgrounds and think more about the character, mood, and lighting different environments provide to enhance your original idea.

In this case, the background is as much a character as the beast portrayed in the foreground, and, as opposed to an afterthought, the character itself is derived from the backgrounds posted.

Here's how you play:
Choose a background posted by someone else and draw a character within that environment (taking into account colors and lighting). Then post a background of your own. It's a good exercise PLUS you get the pleasure of creating a character without having to draw a background (at least, it'll feel like it), and afterwards you get to create a unique and interesting environment that another artist's character will have to live in.

I will begin with two backgrounds. OH - and don't be afraid to re-use a background with a different interpretation/character. Or to add to the background as needed. All backgrounds are up for grabs at all times.

And here's another one

And here's a really cheezy fantasy background for anyone who feels like doing something fruity.

Fruity... That's an understatement...

great idea!
this will really help people =)

I might try as soon as I finish working on my current pic..

But....but I hate backgrounds! ^.^

KoOkY! said: But....but I hate backgrounds! ^.^

Aha! Well then you're just the soul I'm looking to recruit.

Vizon said:

KoOkY! said: But....but I hate backgrounds! ^.^

Aha! Well then you're just the soul I'm looking to recruit.

Drat! :P Hehe. Idea is to match the colors and lighting of the BG with whatever character(s) I may put in there right? Okay, in the spirit of adventure I'll give it a shot but don't expect anything too good. ;)

KoOkY! said:

Drat! :P Hehe. Idea is to match the colors and lighting of the BG with whatever character(s) I may put in there right? Okay, in the spirit of adventure I'll give it a shot but don't expect anything too good. ;)

No sweat. It's just an exercise for fun.

Vizon said:

No sweat. It's just an exercise for fun.

Well this is what we have going so far! Hehe. Tried using the background colors for the shades of the shadows and the few highlights in there. Not sure if the shadows are dark enough though? Figured a good time to throw it out there though and see what ya's thought. And no footprints in the snow yet but will get them in there some point. :D

Good composition! Though even with the shading, their colors seem far too bright for that scene. Remember, color itself is visible because of the light that is reflecting off an object. If your light is blue and there's not much of it, colors that are not blue will not reflect as they might in a full-spectrum lighting. For instance, here is a lion at sunset, when the lighting is strong orange:
http://www.tanzaniaparks.com/images/serengeti/SERENGETI.jpg
and here is a lion at dusk, as the light becomes dim and bluish (I had a better pic in mind, but I cannot find it online):
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/images/lion.JPG
Sample all the colors on her and suddenly what was yellow is blue and what was bright orange is brown.
So what color is a lion for real? Well this is pretty close to full spectrum lighting, but even this lion, if you sample the color in Photoshop, has some green in it, reflected off the grass it is lying in:
http://www.worth1000.com/web/media/43299/lion3.jpg
So truly, the environment plays a HUGE role in what colors you choose. My suggestion to you is to mute your bright oranges and reds, as they are very warm colors (yellow to red) as opposed to cool colors (which range from violet to green). Here, I am attaching a suggestion for your colors. The original colors are still there, but I put a layer of blue over them.

Okay then, I added a blue and black screen layer and even toned down the saturation a bit. Any better? After staring at this for awhile I really see what you mean by my first attempt being too bright in the warm colors. Where's my sunglasses??

Much better! The only other thing I'd tweak yet is the contrast. In toning down your colors you've grayed out your darkest shadows as well. In the background there are very deep, dark shadows. You need to match this same effect with your characters, making the darkest shadows on the two foxes be as dark as the tree's darkest shadows, so it looks like they are being influenced by the same light effects. You might want a shadow on the ground as well, since they'll be blocking a lot of the moon's light from reaching the snow just behind them (I'd recommend a dark blue for that though, as the snow is white).

Oh and here's the lion I was trying to locate previously. It's from a favorite photograph of mine, by Frans Lanting.

Ugh. See THIS is why I don't do backgrounds. ;) I do appreciate the tips on it though, BG's are definitely a big weak spot of mine. :P I've done a few updates on the picture but don't want to keep spamming the forum with update after update. Maybe I'll try another BG sometime. Hehe.

Hey, it's all about learning. I myself am shaky on lighting and shadows, and usually skimp on my backgrounds. Which is why I started this thread - to practice and learn from others (as well as help where I can). I hope if I post and my shadows are off that someone will help me out. Don't be discouraged though - as long as you're drawing, you're moving forward, and the more you practice, the easier it'll get.

I may be pushing too fast though, I realize. Sorry. This is meant to be fun practice, not an intense critique. Post away - I'll try to lighten up.

No no, no apologies, this has been a lot of fun and I need a good critique and a kick in the arse to get me going on something like tackling backgrounds. Hehe. I won't get discouraged, I'll just complain along the way. :D

Okay NOW I believe I'm finished. :D Really think I learned a lot with this game/exercise.

Excellent! Now, isn't there a whole lot more of a "feel" to this image than if you just had the characters by themselves? I mean, even if you had a yellow moon for them to be looking at and snow, the colors add so much more - you can almost see their breath in the air and imagine the sound of the squeaking snow under their feet. So much more in a moment, when you're in the midst of a scene than the sole focus of it.

Vizon said: Excellent! Now, isn't there a whole lot more of a "feel" to this image than if you just had the characters by themselves? I mean, even if you had a yellow moon for them to be looking at and snow, the colors add so much more - you can almost see their breath in the air and imagine the sound of the squeaking snow under their feet. So much more in a moment, when you're in the midst of a scene than the sole focus of it.

I actually almost added in little wisps of their breath in there. Hehe. But yeah backgrounds certainly add much to a scene. Actually being able to draw a background though is another thing. :P That'll be the next step. Hehe. I am very happy with the picture though, yes!

I often use references for inspiration. For instance, I drew the background you used from a photograph I took in Montana one night as I was experimenting with my Olympus. The scene is similar, but not copied/traced (except I admit I did sample colors from it).

Oftentimes when I'm doing google searches, I will save random images that catch my eye that I think would make really interesting settings/backgrounds. It is also useful to view other artists' work - especially those who are very good at very impressive backgrounds like here at CG Society:
http://forums.cgsociety.org/forumdisplay.php?f=137
Sometimes these people's paintings are all about the scene, and don't have any specific characters as the main focus.
And it's also interesting to see that even in many of the portraits where the character IS the main focus and the background simple, they still have compelling textures to them:
Example1
Example2
Example3

Also, interesting/dramatic angles and perspectives always make a piece of artwork really catch the viewer's eye and draw them in:
Cat Example
Werewolf Example

Just ideas for you.