Thanks for the comments biL, thanks for the food for thought. I have filed Mike C's photo in my railroad files.

I've been debating whether or not to make a more defined horizon/sky junction above the road to get away from the "foggy" look. The junction would slant downward to the middle from both sides. I am also pondering a couple of distant telephone poles with street lights to each side of the road, getting shorter and smaller as they recede in the distance.

Something for all to consider when planning or building a scene, if the road or creek is running somewhat perpendicular to the backdrop, maybe the perspective should start on the layout? Make the road or waterway larger and wider at the front and shrinking in size to the back.

A thoughtful proposal, indeed ... the stuff of "an adventure in perspective."

Gary,

That scene is really coming together nicely, I like the addition of the power lines and other details that really distract the eyes from finding the seem between the backdrop and layout. I think you are on the right track and as you add more detail the transition between the backdrop and layout will just fade away. Keep up the great work and keep posting your lighting fast progress.

Gary S Wrote:...Something for all to consider when planning or building a scene, if the road or creek is running somewhat perpendicular to the backdrop, maybe the perspective should start on the layout? Make the road or waterway larger and wider at the front and shrinking in size to the back...

I did see some time ago (may be in big blue) some one who painted the road on a kind of card board making it smaller at the end and than glued that card board strip / street strip on the layout AND about one inch high on the backdrop. That way was the street on the backdrop identical to the street on the foreground. The transition to the backdrop was a curve of the card board. At the end of the card board he continued the road on the backdrop with even more fading colors.

Here is the latest try. The first photo is a crop from a previous photo. The second photo is the same, except I photoshopped some more poles in and tried to make the horizon/sky junction more distinct. Thoughts?

As the backdrop is now:

[attachment=19997]

Photoshopped with poles

[attachment=19996]

With each thoughtful addition comes a clearer perception of the transition from near to far away.

It is definitely improving Gary. I think you need to put more detail and less "fog" at the point where the street transitions from the layout to the backdrop. Your artistic abilities far exceed mine, but this is one of the threads that I check out as soon as I come back to "Big Blue."

Actually I think the haze is the way to go. The close up photos above focusing on the transition to the backdrop might make us forget that this scene is about...what?...a foot and a half to two feet deep fro the front edge of the layout. All of the other components of the surrounding scene like the bank itself will catch the eye. I wonder if two detailed a photo backdrop on this transition might "give away" the illusion? I think it looks great right now.

Ralph

nachoman Wrote:The scene is coming together very nicely. But... I must ask, will the cop pull over the yellow pickup for tailgating?

Hey Kevin, sorry I missed this. Hmmm... I was envisioning that the traffic was stopped at the red light!

I certainly want to thank everyone who is giving comments and thoughts on how to make this thing "finished"!

Galen, I took your advice on making the traffic lights from plastic and then gluing them on the wall, and painting the wires.

Russ, Ralph, thanks for looking at my latest and offering advice. And of course biL, thank you for making me look a little further than I might have.

The latest permutation... painted in some receeding telephone poles, made the horizontal line of the road on the backdrop more defined, repainted the traffic stripes on the backdrop just a bit, and made the distant treeline more distinct. Now, the creation looks acceptable from all of the various angles with the viewblocks of the trees and buildings and vehicles, the only one that is still lacking is from straight on. It is time to move back over to the bayou backdrop for now, perhaps more inspiration will come later. Oh... I will put a model traffic sign over on the left sidewalk.

[attachment=19998]

Nice work Gary . How about a shot from further away so we can really see how it blends in.

Very admirable work, Gary I can honestly say, I don't think I've seen anyone deal with this type of backdrop situation better. In fact, I think this whole back-and-forth discussion should be useful to anyone contemplating painting their own backdrop.

One piece of more abstract advice that sometimes helps me. The road scene looks good enough as it is right now. Move on to another area, forget about this area, and a few days (or weeks) later come back to it with a fresh eye. You will see and understand things differently than you did before.

e-paw, I'll do a "further back" shot tonight.

Kevin, my wife said the same thing. Take a few days off from this scene, and move on to something else, then see if any further inspiration occurs. Now, she also said that it looks like th cars are going to crash into the background trees. :|

I've been thinking that perhaps I should modify the 1/2" of painted road on the backdrop, instead of a horizontal line at the upper boundary, it should be as in the following image:

[attachment=20000]

Super work! I'd say go even further to reduce the fogginess, but I think others' advice to walk away for a while then return is an excellent suggestion.

Really nice to see how the stoplights turned out. The receding telephone poles that match the 3-d poles on the layout, along with the color, shape and size of the trees echoed on the backdrop, makes for a pleasing, cohesive feel to the scene.

Galen

Thanks Galen. Gluing 3d stuff to the backdrop is a technique that I will probably use again.

E-paw, here's a "further back" photo.

[attachment=19999]