Um hi :3 I was just curious about how you're able to draw backgrounds so nicely?
Thank you so much for noticing!!
Short answer: half the time i spend on any page is usually just doing backgrounds.
Loooong answer: Actually this is something i’ve wanted to talk about before but now you’ve given me an excuse >:] So basically the most important step in making backgrounds (and also in making any image that looks coherent) is making sure the perspective “Makes sense”, it doesn’t have to be mathematicaly perfect and geometrically exact it just has to seem correct. I usually use 2-point perspective, wich isn’t the correct method if you want to replicate real life but it’s more than enouch for a comic panel. Normally put down a horizon line first, this is where all my vanishing points will be.
In the exemple red is the horizon, blue are the perspective lines and green are the paralel lines (they would come to a vanishing point if i used 3-point perspective). They don’t need to be perfectly aligned, just good enough. Realising a convincing 3D space for your charachters to inhabit makes the world feel real an if your perspective is interesting (exagerated angles, dutch angles curved perspective lines and other fun stuff) then the background will instantly become part of the world and your chatacters part of it. After the basic geometry is laid out I can texture it! I developed a cross hatching style and i guess i’ve mostly been using that ! The hatching follows the perspective lines and it’s density shows light and shadow. In the exemple the little candle was the only light source so it casts harsh shadows.
Fun Fact: The ENTIRE premise of Shifting sands came about BECAUSE i couldn’t draw backgrounds and so i chose to have the AU Start in a featureless Desert! Deserts and Dunes are soo easy to draw, that’s why Shifting Sands didn’t start in a forest, and now the desert became an integral part of the plot!!
