Country Lanes Scene

Finally finished the countryside lane scene . . . although it took ages to do it was quicker than doing the shop front scene! Most of the scenes are a combination of some hand pastel layers and Photoshop, but as I improve in both Photoshop and using a graphics pen more is being done directly on the computer. But, hand pastel work creates a good textured base for distance areas on landscapes and I do want to keep working with hand materials for diversity of skill and appearance, so I don't want the computer to take over completely.

Anyway, there is one more background on my list to do, the living room in Couch Potato which I know will take a long time to do. So, I think I will do that in stages, fitting it in when I have a few hours here and there as I need to start the 'abstract' for the innovation project.

Although I haven't managed to do all of the backgrounds I will have a good cross section of designs fro each scenario, which is originally what I had planned.

Country Lanes Backgrounds

Been working on a country lane scene above . . . which I wanted to look quite detailed. These are finished sections from the scene.

I think it is coming along OK, but these scenes take me ages to do, I'm not quite sure whether the timescale is slow or average, I just know that there is alot to do in a scene like this. I could probably cut down on some of the distance detail which practice and reduce my thinking time with experience.

Also, this is where 'sketching constantly' comes into the picture, there is no substitute for life drawing and scenary sketching for backing up your work.

Riptides Backgrounds

Backgrounds with Character

Some of the shop front scene with Kenny:

I've been working quite hard on backgrounds . . . the shop front scene took an age to do, as it is so detailed. I think it came out OK and seems to match up with the other designs to keep consistency.

I hope to get through some of the outdoor scene backgrounds a bit quicker, like the beach scenes I think will be more 'fluid' than 'tight' as the detail areas are more organic type objects.

This Happy Breed - Background Designs

Some improved background designs:

Decided to abandon layout sheets for the time being for two reasons . . . one, I felt like finishing the artwork section, backgrounds and one more character sheet for Jamie the lifeguard, and two, I got a bit confused by what I needed to achieve for the layouts. So I'm waiting till the artwork is finished and till I can chat to someone about the layouts. Just not quite sure about camera moves and whether background layouts are done with characer sheets or separate.

I wasn't happy with some areas of the backgrounds that I had started, so I have improved them, at least I think they are an improvement! And can carry on with the others now . . . it always takes me a few days to get back into another area of work.