WOOHOO! Good weather = time to build

[Gary S]

The device, or I think “ploy” was the word I used before, is the introduction of the "sub-title" curve introduced in the road. It is just enough to cause the eye a small amount of "confusion," a little extra to process that pure straight lines do not present for processing by the brain. Remember the "less is more" principle that Mies van der Rohe was so into? The road here is a perfect example of that multi-duty minimalism put into practice. It is such a simple device, two lines that curve gradually to one side, growing ever closer together, and containing a field of gradually lightening color as it recedes ever so slightly to the right. The device here leads the eye astray, fools it with constantly graying and fading color, forces it to perceive a change in direction and leads it to mere suggestion that “there is more there than meets the eye.” And while those two lines delineate the constantly diminished color saturation and reduced hue of the “road surface,” together they’re a device that causes the eye to work to the point where it wants to move on, because, “way back there,” it seems there is entirely too much to take in quickly. But when you really look at what’s actually back there … there’s not a whole lot of any real recognizable substance! Beautiful!

I've read many times in model railroad books (and here at Big Blue) about not making stuff on the layout go directly into the backdrop. As you explain it, and as I have been experiencing it, it finally sinks into my brain why it is important. Especially streets which continue straight into the backdrop, because of the perfectly straight lines. With a street perpendicular to the backdrop, the expected "perspective point" or "vanishing point" is a moving target which cannot be captured with paint. But the curved road as in Mike C's backdrop avoids the moving vanishing point. Good stuff to comprehend! Thanks for the discussion on the topic here and later in your reply. It is funny, but I can read about this stuff in the model railroad literature, but until I actually experienced it, it was just so many words.

Note the color used all the way to the rear of the road (or just up from the horizontal plane … a very light gray, a spot of light? Sunlight? Maybe. Who knows! It’s a familiar, comfortable distraction from getting too involved in everything that isn’t there … another ploy or device used to put the viewer in his “comfort zone” so he is relaxed enough to accept what his eye is telling the brain is there, but it works because the transition is gradual.

Yes, that lighter area on the distant road is exactly what the viewer expects to see. As the road recedes, the angle of viewing from our eyes becomes less and less, to the point where light is bouncing off the surface, almost like the "mirage" effect. Now, I do hope to make use of this newfound knowledge in conjunction with my bayous and waterways, which will be curved on the backdrop.

The notion of framing the road “going into the backdrop” again brought a wry smile to my face! “he’s really getting it! It’s so cool! It’s brilliant! And mixing two dimensional and three dimensional versions of the same thing in the same scene is ‘beyond the box” thinking! I would try painting the distant ones (2D) and mounting some not-very-detailed 3D ones directly on the backdrop. I’d try music wire or maybe a thin brass wire that you can introduce the proper “hang,” but place it very, very close to the backdrop in an effort to eliminate the possibility of an unwanted shadow. Those things ar anachronistic and ruin otherwise beautiful illusions!

I think Galen hit it, glue the signals to the backdrop, but paint or draw the wires in. Like I said to him, I'll put some paper or poster board against the backdrop right there at the street, and then practice with colored pencils until I get it looking right. From there, I'll put it on with paint.

Gary, you are headlong on a course to become the “go-to” backdrop guy in Houston, mark my words! You have grasped a couple semesters of artistic principle in only a night of concentrated effort! I have had fun exposing the concepts and principles! My enjoyment was tripled by watching you tackle and immediately grasp the techniques. I hope that you have enjoyed doing it as much as I have enjoyed exposing it! The only thing left is dogged repetition and concentration … at least in the beginning. Later on you’ll be able to carry it off by just watching the brushes do their thing while you think about the next scene down the line!

biL, several weeks ago I serendipitously ran across an article in an old issue of MR where a slide projector was used to project background images on the backdrop, and a pencil was used to trace in the buildings and windows and trees and such. Then the projector was turned off and thinnned water-based paint was used to fill in the shapes. Of course, the purpose of the "washes" was to leave some of the backdrop color showing through, in effect giving a blended hazy look to everything. The technique looked easy enouh, and the photos in the article looked convincing, so that is what gave me the confidence to get started. I'm not using a projector, but I am certainly using photos of the area to draw in the shapes. Along with using thinned paints, I stumbled across uisng light blue or gray paint, thinned heavily, and washed over the backdrop, to increase the "hazy" feel. Now, so far, all the buildings I have done are fairly close to the foreground, so they do have detail and aren't washed out all that much. But other areas of the layout will have objects way off in the distance on the horizon, so I'll be learning more about that too.

As always, thanks for your detailed analysis, and for the encouragement!