Back ground annoyances

[LordZevon]

I dont think backgrounds are annoying, they add a sense of the world around the characters. They are fundementally important to a comic. They can be tedious sometimes but I think mixing up angles and different distances can make them more intriguing to draw. Also if you have the right tools or programs then backgrounds can be very quick and easy. Now I draw in black and white so I don't know the annoyances of coloring a backgrounds. I thinks if you can lead the eyes of the viewer away from the background then less effort needs to be put into it. That is a lazy solution though, but it is a way to make them less annoying. Plus I find adding sound effects in if the annoying part, I never know where to but them.

[SynergyEclipse]

Detailed backgrounds are tedious to draw, but I don't mind, and I draw them because they're important to establishing the world around the characters, and I like adding in little details each time.

Almost the entirety of my comic is made with vector graphics, which makes it very easy to reuse backgrounds, or background props, and make it easy to scale them up or down as needed. I change up the scenery a lot though, so many of the detailed backgrounds I've spent a lot of time drawing, I've drawn and used only once. I've found drawing architecture to be easier with vectors than by hand, but for nature scenes to be a lot more difficult with vectors.

[scullpanda]

@jutawi Im with you on this I suck at background perspective when it comes down to everything and drawing backgrounds ...... I like avoidance

[Kayke]

I love drawing detailed backgrounds, especially when it comes the the characters' homes. I just think about how much the items and decorations in a room can tell the reader about the people who live there and the extra work feels worth it

Plus, I know when I go to a person's house in real life and they don't have clutter and photos and stuff I get really creeped out. One time I went over someone's dorm in college and all they had was a printer and a bowl of fruit and all I could think was "wow, I'm about to be murdered, this is where I die." A few more items in a room can make the space feel a lot more safe and welcoming...

[mariusthered]

i never thought of it that way. I guess roz's dolls would mean a lot too her.
im considering doing drop in backgrounds of the room in question so it makes things a bit quicker.

[MST3KFan]

This is how my comics normally look when I mentioned earlier in the thread how I kind of pay homage to newspaper comic strips, particularly Sunday ones...

This is my attempt to really do some background stuff in a recent story arc...

The story arc needed a lot of establishing of locations, which is the big reason for things.
Honestly, I seem to keep the whole adding in backgrounds more reserved for story arcs in general, but am slowly trying to change that. It\s just hard to change, you know?

[mariusthered]

thanks for posting. the down side is as mentioned before you don't get any hint of the character from just plain backgrounds. I think a happy mix of both is needed.

[MST3KFan]

I understand that. I guess given most of the time the comic takes place in the cast's house, usually the living room (hence the couch), it's one of the reasons backgrounds tend not to be in the frames.

Also, I think a lot of times it might be distracting when you have the characters in the foreground and the dialogue balloons all in there already.

[Marton]

I try to draw backgrounds whenever I feel it's necessary, and since my characters travels alot my backgrounds often change to new areas. My upcoming episode takes place in the woods which looks like this:

[DMBrigman]

I am trying to push myself by drawing more backgrounds. I definitely have a mix of semi detailed backgrounds and just gradients. I try to at least put one fully fleshed out background in each scene as the establishing shot and fudge angles and stuff from there. I also try to only include things that are important to the scene or characters and not get bogged down with stuff just to have stuff.

It is a sad reality but most readers glance at the background for a moment before moving on, so I try to focus on the necessary information that tells the reader where they are. All that extra detail takes time and isn't truly absorbed by the viewer. I also take into consideration where the word balloons will be placed and put less effort into those areas, and draw backgrounds on separate layers so I can reuse them later.