I need some pointers with my backgrounds

[kokoroinc]

I try to use good perspective and I reference pictures, but I feel that there's something that could improve on my backgrounds. I feel that I draw trees too simplistically, and I leave many small open spaces. Any ideas? I need more manga books and graphic novels to reference.

kanaloacomic.wordpress.com/

I have my link here because my pictures are too large.

[leucome]

I just went to look at many outdoor pictures. On those picture their are almost always something pale far away, a tree, a mountain ect.
The closer tree are really dark with almost black shadow (shade) but it make sense tree eat light to make photosynthesis lol

mastergroup-communication.com/?p=8203

A comic that i think who have a really good simple and effective backgrounds.
hotarugari.smackjeeves.com/comics/766777/chapter-1-01/

Those tree look stunning but with a closer look there is almost no details it's just overlapping grey spot it's where playing with light value make the whole trick. From dark to light !

[kokoroinc]

Wow, I like that art. Beautiful backgrounds

[cn3wton]

Alright the thing with a background is that it is a "background". Meaning you need to focus more on letting it fade into the background. Meaning light, very few black outlines in the background. And very little variation in color. If you look at the example manga luecome gave you, you notice that the background on the front page has no outlines, and has almost no detail.

Try using as few colors and details as possible. That way the focus is where it should be.

Also with the perspective room, look up leonardos grid or something similar to help you with perspective. While all the lines go to the correct places, the height of certain objects in the room doesn't coincide well. For instance the book case near the door is almost twice as tall. The vanishing point is also really high. I would try lowering it. The tops of things such as the door and the bookcase should go down.

If you want to avoid the long setup of something like a leonardo grid, download google sketchup. Learn how to build a room in that. Then you can take a screenshot and print it out. Then use that with a lightbox or trace paper to create your room accurately. You can literally place your line of view wherever you want too, which is the nice thing.

[kokoroinc]

I could feel that there were many error in my perspective with that picture, I just couldn't place them. Yeah, the vanshing point was in the picture above that one of the room by the telephone poll by the kid's head. Thanks, those pointers help. I need to reference my graphic novels and mangas more when making backgrounds.

[Shadow Major]

I agree with cn3wton. I'm not entirely sure about this but I always make sure the horizon line is somewhere near the middle of a panel. In this case, for your webcomic, we are looking down from above, so perhaps this may differ.

[kokoroinc]

Okay, that makes sense. Backgrounds and man-made things are really my weakness.