Scenery Help Please?

[Freakconformist]

Hi, thank you for coming.

I've been thinking about creating a comic, I'm not quite sure what my story is even but I'm narrowing it down to a Fantasy based on a story I started a few years ago or a super hero theme based of the scads of characters I've created through the years.

NE ways, I'm pretty good at character art (I better be or I just wasted 13 years of my life!) but horrible at scenery. Small objects I can do, but dont ask me to do a room! I can almost do a tree but leaves are beyond me!

So can anybody recomend any good scenery tutorials? One, or multiple ones, that can span from inner city to forest scenery? Of coarse if anybody want to do a collabe and I don't have to draw scenery at all that all well and good too. ^_^

Thank you, come again.

[CB_Young]

Drawing from life is the best tutorial you can get for that. Most senery tutorials I've seen don't do anything beone teach you how to be a human copy machine. Find a couple good books on perspective, and just practace.

Google is an artist's best friend. Try searching for refrence pictures for waht you want to draw. Then mix and match bits of them to get waht youre trying to accomplish.

[Freakconformist]

yeah, I understand that, maybe I wasn't clear enough. I don't know how to do this on the computer.

I've never done a tutorial or anything but I was thinking of technique on how to do realistic leaves? maybe? maybe somebody has some tips even?

I was trying to make a wooded path yesterday and I had trees and limbs down pretty good, but the leaves killed me. crying I tried several different tecniques that I thought might look good but, well, it didn't.

[Yu]

Quote:

Hi, thank you for coming.

I've been thinking about creating a comic, I'm not quite sure what my story is even but I'm narrowing it down to a Fantasy based on a story I started a few years ago or a super hero theme based of the scads of characters I've created through the years.

NE ways, I'm pretty good at character art (I better be or I just wasted 13 years of my life!) but horrible at scenery. Small objects I can do, but dont ask me to do a room! I can almost do a tree but leaves are beyond me!

So can anybody recomend any good scenery tutorials? One, or multiple ones, that can span from inner city to forest scenery? Of coarse if anybody want to do a collabe and I don't have to draw scenery at all that all well and good too. ^_^

Thank you, come again.

crying *sigh* computer crashed while responding.

One of the easier ways coming up with background is to use a digital camera. The best advantage of this is you have limitless backgrounds from your surrounding. the only draw back is to render every photograph into line art or halftone for your background.

The BEST way I know how is to get pre-made backgrounds:

http://www.akadotretail.com/shop/shop_showbook.php?id=4900769878

http://www.deleter.com/eng/supplies/h.html
|||||| Scenery Collection
This " Scenery Collection " series is very useful as scenery materials fo making comic or animations. You can copy and paste as a background, or you can use tones on a picture an arrange them in your own way. It is up o you.

Vol.1 School No.501-4001

Vol.2 Restaurant No.501-4002

Vol.3 Traditional No.501-4003


They are line art....if you need to give them texture or shading, you will need to tone it yourself.


Goodluck on that.

[Freakconformist]

nyeh, thank you for the suggestion but I don't have any money to buy my backgrounds, and I really cant afford to buy a digital camera. I've got about $20 left for an indetermable amount of time. crying

I'm lucky my father lets me use his computer / scanner / printer / internet.

Okay here's an experiment I did trying to make leaves. unfortunately it looks more like tree tops. sweatdrop so I added a river.
Critiques and Comment welcome of coarse.

[aquarelle avi]

I'm curious...do you know want to know how to draw detailed individial leaves or leaves as they appear on trees or fallen on the ground? B/C the latter is simply a matter of know how to simplify shapes down to get the general idea; in short don't try to draw every leaf on a tree, but get the overall shape of a cluster of leaves detailing just a few.

[Freakconformist]

Okay, I'm not sure if this is what you mean but this takes me a little closer. it's a segment of the same sketch but with a "tree trunk" crossed in. How dose it look?
Edit: bah! forgot to add the pic, duh.

[aquarelle avi]

Tarnished Lacquer

Okay, I'm not sure if this is what you mean but this takes me a little closer. it's a segment of the same sketch but with a "tree trunk" crossed in. How dose it look?
Edit: bah! forgot to add the pic, duh.

Yep, you understood what I ment. ^^ Before it just looked like green blobs, since you've gotten overall shapes with some defining detail it esembles a tree more. Now see if you can apply this to a simple landscape; a simple horizon with a tree present (at the very least)

[Prusten]

Ok, this is just me commenting on what first came to mind, for I can draw backrounds the same way I can jump of a 13 story building and land like a feather. By which I mean not at all.

I have a feeling this has the possibility of becoming unbeleivably time consuiming doing it as you are, but your pics just look like, well, splotches on a tree (tree's good though). you need to not just vary your splotches shades, but take into account that shade changes mostly on space from trunk, height, and amount of sun. Essentially those most near the sun are brighter than those shaded by trunk or other leaves. By getting this close to the subject you manage to lose some of the depth that you need to create lifelike feel.

oh well, just rambling.

[Naohiro]

Well, the best responce I can give you is that if you are going to be making a comic, the background won't matter all that much except for the general location of your setting and the such. Majority of your pannels will probably be filled mainly with your characters and speech bubbles.

However, for scenery, if you fin that you REALLY have to add it in, just keep it simple. A couple of sillouetts that look like trees is fine in most cases. However, if you're looking for a nice quick and easy way to add some in, I would suggest screen tones. Especially online screentones because you can reuse them over and over again. xd That's usually what I do. You can find them in places like Screentones, which also has a few tips and other sites.

Good luck. 3nodding

[Dachenan]

Tarnished Lacquer

Okay, I'm not sure if this is what you mean but this takes me a little closer. it's a segment of the same sketch but with a "tree trunk" crossed in. How dose it look?
Edit: bah! forgot to add the pic, duh.

I actually like this picture a lot... if you do your backgrounds like that I think it'll be fine, just with enough detail to understand what it is. The reader isn't necessarily supposed to see the background anyways. They're supposed to pay attention to the characters, and what's going on. With some exceptions of course.

I like that picture a lot though... it's a nice style.

[Yu]

Tarnished Lacquer

Okay, I'm not sure if this is what you mean but this takes me a little closer. it's a segment of the same sketch but with a "tree trunk" crossed in. How dose it look?
Edit: bah! forgot to add the pic, duh.

image edited for space

Well, Ms Lacquer,

Now I understand what you might be looking for. Are you looking for some background that looks more like an out of focus background from a photo? Focused subject and defocused background?

http://www.pbase.com/minoltaman/floral_arrays

I love your 'out-of-focus' background. I have a friend that used japanese wrapping paper as background for her multi-layer cel painting. She scored over 500.00 for 4 paintings! whee

[Freakconformist]

Naohiro

Well, the best responce I can give you is that if you are going to be making a comic, the background won't matter all that much except for the general location of your setting and the such. Majority of your pannels will probably be filled mainly with your characters and speech bubbles.

However, for scenery, if you fin that you REALLY have to add it in, just keep it simple. A couple of sillouetts that look like trees is fine in most cases. However, if you're looking for a nice quick and easy way to add some in, I would suggest screen tones. Especially online screentones because you can reuse them over and over again. xd That's usually what I do. You can find them in places like Screentones, which also has a few tips and other sites.

Good luck. 3nodding

I see what you mean Naohiro, and if I wanted a commentary comic (one in which the subject is more importatnt then the plot) I think I would say you were exactly right. but I'm thinking more of a comic with a story line where the background is more important. There should be stuff explained in the background so the character doesn't have to say stupid stuff like "oh, I'm in a forest" or "I'm going to hit you with this rusty sword laying in this pile of garbage", ect.

Cheerful Blue

I have a feeling this has the possibility of becoming unbeleivably time consuiming doing it as you are

Yeah, but comics are time consuming aren't they? I hope to have some generic backgrounds into which I can throw random details and wa-la I have a background.

Either way the last sketch was actually pretty simple, cover the field with a light green in dissolve, randomly spread darker colors around, up the spacing, put in random sploches of light yellow green. then meld it all together with the "artistic" tool. Done in less then 5 minutes.

Thank you indeed for wise words everyone.