03-16-2011, 08:59 PM
S-250 and Greg, although I am not convinced that this will turn out good, I am hoping that somebody will get some good out of this. If it turns out well, we'll be aware of a decent mehtod to do a backdrop. If it isn't so great, we'll all know what not to do! And we'll slap some of the sky color over it and start over.
biL, the craft paints when taken straight from the bottle are somewhat on the opaque side. When diluted, they are transparent. The method used in an article I had read discussed using the thinned paint over the backdrop blue, which only tints the sky color to a greener color. This gives the effect of a distant hazy treeline which blends and matches with the sky. Unfortunately the article didn't talk about a technique for somewhat closer trees. I should have tried painting some treelines on a mock-up, but decided to just go for it (because of the aforementioned leftover sky blue paint!).
I thank you for your explanation of using darker and lighter colors. I was not sure how to continue on the trees on the right which are closer to the viewer. My feeling is that they are close enough that there should be a bit of detail to them, and your technique of a darker color first and then a lighter color stippled over that seems to be exactly what is needed. I also think there should be a hint of some abstract branches and trunks put in here and there. So perhaps, in order, a darker color first, then some trunks and branches, then a lighter color dotted over that. On the stippled lighter color, I am thinking that it should not extend all the way to the ground in most places, so the ground/treeline junction will appear to be in shade.
The trees on the left at the little buildings will be just a hazy lighter color to make them appear distant as you mention. I'm not happy with the color of those trees though, they seem too bright. I used light tan to lighten the green, where I should have used a light gray-blue or maybe even a light purple? Of course, the color now is only a first wash, and I knew I would have to do some additional washes. The first wash was really just to define the areas, and to give me something to look at and develop a game plan.
I think the craft paints will be very forgiving. On the buildings I did earlier, I was able to use the thinned sky color over the painted buildings to lighten them up and give a hazy muted look. As for the most distant trees, I'm sure that a thin gray wash or blue wash or even purple will help them appear more distant.
Again, the heavily thinned paints mostly just give a tint to the color underneath, which allows plenty of room for adjustment with additional washes. The drawback is that it takes longer to do. But on the tinting, I have found it is important to start too light rather than too dark, because trying to tint a darker color lighter isn't as effective. A lighter wash over a darker wash certainly has its place as mentioned above, but only as a final adjustment.
Again, thanks for the tips, and by all means keep them coming!
biL, the craft paints when taken straight from the bottle are somewhat on the opaque side. When diluted, they are transparent. The method used in an article I had read discussed using the thinned paint over the backdrop blue, which only tints the sky color to a greener color. This gives the effect of a distant hazy treeline which blends and matches with the sky. Unfortunately the article didn't talk about a technique for somewhat closer trees. I should have tried painting some treelines on a mock-up, but decided to just go for it (because of the aforementioned leftover sky blue paint!).
I thank you for your explanation of using darker and lighter colors. I was not sure how to continue on the trees on the right which are closer to the viewer. My feeling is that they are close enough that there should be a bit of detail to them, and your technique of a darker color first and then a lighter color stippled over that seems to be exactly what is needed. I also think there should be a hint of some abstract branches and trunks put in here and there. So perhaps, in order, a darker color first, then some trunks and branches, then a lighter color dotted over that. On the stippled lighter color, I am thinking that it should not extend all the way to the ground in most places, so the ground/treeline junction will appear to be in shade.
The trees on the left at the little buildings will be just a hazy lighter color to make them appear distant as you mention. I'm not happy with the color of those trees though, they seem too bright. I used light tan to lighten the green, where I should have used a light gray-blue or maybe even a light purple? Of course, the color now is only a first wash, and I knew I would have to do some additional washes. The first wash was really just to define the areas, and to give me something to look at and develop a game plan.
I think the craft paints will be very forgiving. On the buildings I did earlier, I was able to use the thinned sky color over the painted buildings to lighten them up and give a hazy muted look. As for the most distant trees, I'm sure that a thin gray wash or blue wash or even purple will help them appear more distant.
Again, the heavily thinned paints mostly just give a tint to the color underneath, which allows plenty of room for adjustment with additional washes. The drawback is that it takes longer to do. But on the tinting, I have found it is important to start too light rather than too dark, because trying to tint a darker color lighter isn't as effective. A lighter wash over a darker wash certainly has its place as mentioned above, but only as a final adjustment.
Again, thanks for the tips, and by all means keep them coming!