Serious questions about backgrounds

[Digital Klown]

Backgrounds, I find, are one of the hardest things to draw. There's just some things about drawing backgrounds that I don't understand. So here are some questions for anyone who might know:

1) Which do you draw first? The figure/character or the background?

2) If the figure goes first, how do you fit the background around it? Alternatively, if the background goes first, how do you fit the figure into the background?

3) Is using 3d computer models a valid technique for creating backgrounds? If so, how would you put the figure and the background together?

4) How do you make sure that the background and the figure do fit together?


I understand that people might have different techniques for this so if you've got one please share it with us. Thanks in advance!

[Inkthinker]

"A valid technique"...

Man, anything that works is a "valid technique". I personally use 3D models as guides for drawing detailed background environments, by creating simplified shapes and rendering them with a cel shader, and then printing them out and placing them under the page, drawing over them on a light box.

As for whether or not you place the character first or the character second, that depends on whether your focus is the person or the environment. Either way, you place the character in scale to the obejects he is near to, using perspective guidelines to help keep your angles correct in perspective.

It gets easier with practice.

[Digital Klown]

Thanks for the tips, Ink! That is exactly what i mean by "valid"-- whether it works well or not. Any particular software you would use to make 3d models, though? I mean, I've seen something similar on that Retas website you provided but those must be expensive... what software do you personally use?

[astrocity20]

Thats good idea with the basic 3d model shapes never thouht about that.