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xKhamsinStables In reply to painted-cowgirl [2012-04-11 04:54:32 +0000 UTC]

Aw, thanks again. I honestly just look at a lot of photos of whatever background type I'm painting, and mentally extract the key visual elements (colour palatte and variation, saturation levels, types of textures, etc) that I observe, then try to recontruct them for the picture. For these simple bgs, I didn't use refs, but even without using refs for these specific pieces, the way I draw environments comes directly from what I've noticed from looking at photos (or even the tricks and techniques other artists use).

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painted-cowgirl In reply to xKhamsinStables [2012-04-11 05:08:44 +0000 UTC]

I am a perfectionist. Its a miracle I post what I do after seeing things like this.

You should totally point me in the direction to find these tricks. Because I am blonde and don't even know how many letters are in the alphabet. I wasn't even sure if I spelled that right and had to google it...

So yes, if you know of any good tricks, send them my way

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xKhamsinStables In reply to painted-cowgirl [2012-04-11 05:38:41 +0000 UTC]

Well, first off, one of the really important things people don't think about in drawing backgrounds is to try to let go of your assumptions of how a mountain looks or how the horizon interacts with the sky, or even the colours in grass. Instead look at the way things actually look — if you need to, sample colours directly from ref photos for practice, until you understand enough about the actual shades, hues, and ranges in colour that you're confident you can more or less come up with those colours on your own. It's important to work from refs until you are comfortable with taking your new knowledge and applying it to the screen/paper from imagination.

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painted-cowgirl In reply to xKhamsinStables [2012-04-11 05:47:35 +0000 UTC]

It sounds like I should just look out my window....I live in a valley with mountains on all sides....

But I will surely take your advice for my next piece...this 'otta be good...

Thank you for your help

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xKhamsinStables In reply to painted-cowgirl [2012-04-11 06:43:48 +0000 UTC]

That'll do it! It can be easier to work from photos because as I said you can select the colours directly if you are having trouble, but drawing from life is always a good thing.

No problem. :]

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xKhamsinStables In reply to happy-horse-for-life [2012-04-10 01:19:16 +0000 UTC]

Thank you. Backgrounds are always a bit of a challenge to keep fresh.

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