03-25-2011, 02:22 PM
Decided to take a break from the bayou backdrop and start on this. I know I post alot of photos of my work, and I hope no one thinks I have a big ego! There are 4 reasons why I post what I am doing. 1. Big Blue has always been great about making suggestions and giving alternatives for me to consider. 2. Your encouragement certainly helps me maintain my focus and motivation. 3. Knowing you guys are looking elevates my modeling. 4. Whether it turns out good or bad, hopefully someone will get some ideas.
This is the backdrop for the Mason Park bridge. First, I made a pattern from paperthat fits along the layout/backdrop junction. Although this pattern was fairly easy, for complicated terrain, instead of trying to cut the pattern to fit exactly, just use short pieces of tape to follow the terrain.
From that, I cut out another paper pattern without all the tape on the front. Now, the area is pretty big, so I used Scotch tape on the back to hold the multiple pieces of paper together. Then I drew in the water and bank as to what I thought would look right. The height of the waterline increases as it moves to the right to give the illusion of it receding from us. The horizontal top of the bank also slopes up from left to right, but not as fast as the water does. The actual height dimension of the bank as measured from the drawn waterline is actually getting smaller as we move right, to give the feel that is is further away on that side. Now, very slight variations in these sloping lines make big differences in the illusion. This is why I think it is important to do the patterns, try various anglesand slopes, and get a feel for what is best.
Then drew in some trees, light green at top, dark gray-green at bottom, mixed greens in between.
Overall, the "feel" is good to me. I did notice that the left hand side at the 3D bank slope is not good. It just doesn't fit, as shown below:
Erased the pencil markings there and lifted the bank up a bit. When I start painting, the the higher angle slope will be a medium olive green to match the 3D grass, but the flattened out upper slope will be a lighter green. This looks better. Still, the bank could be raised up even higher. I'll have to give that a try later.
Now, added in 3D trees to check it out. Took photos from 3 angles, from about 10" above the layout, which is the eye level of an average height person.
The perspective looks okay to me from the various angles. The high layout height helps, but I think the real advantage is that the waterway curves to the right. This allows the waterline to stay low on the backdrop and eases the problems of perspective.
The one thing that stands out to me is the "sameness" of all the trees. Pretty boring! Here are some photos of the real bridge.
What is apparent to me is the variation in height of the trees. I'll have to change that on the drawing, should help break up the "sameness".
The following photos show some houses among the trees, so I'll give that a try too.
to be continued...
This is the backdrop for the Mason Park bridge. First, I made a pattern from paperthat fits along the layout/backdrop junction. Although this pattern was fairly easy, for complicated terrain, instead of trying to cut the pattern to fit exactly, just use short pieces of tape to follow the terrain.
From that, I cut out another paper pattern without all the tape on the front. Now, the area is pretty big, so I used Scotch tape on the back to hold the multiple pieces of paper together. Then I drew in the water and bank as to what I thought would look right. The height of the waterline increases as it moves to the right to give the illusion of it receding from us. The horizontal top of the bank also slopes up from left to right, but not as fast as the water does. The actual height dimension of the bank as measured from the drawn waterline is actually getting smaller as we move right, to give the feel that is is further away on that side. Now, very slight variations in these sloping lines make big differences in the illusion. This is why I think it is important to do the patterns, try various anglesand slopes, and get a feel for what is best.
Then drew in some trees, light green at top, dark gray-green at bottom, mixed greens in between.
Overall, the "feel" is good to me. I did notice that the left hand side at the 3D bank slope is not good. It just doesn't fit, as shown below:
Erased the pencil markings there and lifted the bank up a bit. When I start painting, the the higher angle slope will be a medium olive green to match the 3D grass, but the flattened out upper slope will be a lighter green. This looks better. Still, the bank could be raised up even higher. I'll have to give that a try later.
Now, added in 3D trees to check it out. Took photos from 3 angles, from about 10" above the layout, which is the eye level of an average height person.
The perspective looks okay to me from the various angles. The high layout height helps, but I think the real advantage is that the waterway curves to the right. This allows the waterline to stay low on the backdrop and eases the problems of perspective.
The one thing that stands out to me is the "sameness" of all the trees. Pretty boring! Here are some photos of the real bridge.
What is apparent to me is the variation in height of the trees. I'll have to change that on the drawing, should help break up the "sameness".
The following photos show some houses among the trees, so I'll give that a try too.
to be continued...