carlosgomezartist

So... about backgrounds

Added 2023-11-13 08:51:33 +0000 UTC

Hi everyone,

Alic asked a good question, I haven't thought about it in years.
I guess, once I understood it I just did it automatically but it might not be obvious to everyone.

For backgrounds in comic books, you really have to pick your battles and be smart about it.

Take this simple rule: on every page, you need at least ONE ESTABLISHMENT SHOT.

An establishment shot is a panel where people can understand where the characters are and where they are in relation to each other ( in space I mean, they are facing each other, they are close or far away, etc...) and, of course, that needs a background.

So the establishment panel should be your main concern in terms of background (also it doesn't need to be the first panel, it can be whichever you choose it to be).

Once you've done that, the rest of the panels on the page don't really need to have a full-on background. A shadowy background works as well past this point.

Also, since I moved to digital I've been using Sketchup quite a bit. it saves time and if you do it right I think people don't mind the 3D. But it's not the perfect solution, you still have to know how to draw a background before using 3D to save time.

I've attached a few pages from Secret Warps from back in the good old days of pencil and paper, I think they illustrate the point pretty well.

Enjoy!