How important are backgrounds to you? Readers and Creators! :sunrise_over_mountains:

[NOOR_ASAKZ05]

It's very important for creating contrast in the image, but it's funny how I'm bad at drawing it.

[NutshellComics]

ok the difference is really huge, i love the first one, such a beautiful shot. i also like how your characters have this angular design languange, which fits with the backgrounds that come out of your technique. Really cool!

[NutshellComics]

i think backgrounds are a nemesis for many artists , i think mainly because as humans we tend to focus on - guess what - drawing humans. but as much as i love the company of my human fellows, i always adored the view into the distance and also i like to feel the atmosphere of places. it has a magic to me that calms me.

[BoomerZ]

This. I have used this for some specific locations that I wanted to match real life places. I just draw over them so they match the rest of my style and doesn't stick out.

[ShidoDraws]

I've only been making comics for three years, so my skill with characters to backgrounds aren't really that good, but I do believe that I've been improving. What my biggest mistake is when starting out my comic was giving myself a deadline for my earlier chapters. Even though there were benefits that came with uploading consistently for an entire year, this however, caused the quality of the comic to greatly decrease just because I optimized for a consistent update schedule. With recent updates I have been trying to focus more on backgrounds. And I will say, I love new pages the most, but there is something charming about the old pages, like a part of the old me are embedded in those pages. Talk about a middle school yearbook, am I right. Lol

Anyway, here's some old pages:

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And some newer pages:

I am always striving to be better than yesterday, and this thread is very inspiring. It's honestly awesome to see people show either their background process or just their completed works.

[Caya_Yama]

I see, so you instinctively knew how to handle the screentones.
Sorry, I'm not sure if I understood your solution for moiré. Probably because I don't have Photoshop. I only ever used to built-in screentones from Clip Studio Paint, I think.

[NutshellComics]

i can see the downsides of your schedule based process, but it's atmospheric nonetheless. and looking back too older pages always comes with some kind of nostalgia, i think

[NutshellComics]

ok, we are artists, i forgot we have to see something to understand it
These are my three schreentone shades, the dots are simply perfectly overlapping, when drawn over another

[Caya_Yama]

Oh, okay! I think I get it now! Haha, yes, I need images to understand these things
Thank you for sharing your work process!

[ThunderChicken]

As I've learned how to use the different brushes and tools in Krita I've started really enjoying doing backgrounds - especially natural ones. I think this scene represents one of the first times that I used layers (talk about a game changer!!! Before that I drew everything "flat" and it was stupid hard)

I also enjoy doing interiors:

[jhdale]

I feel like I'm cheating a bit using 3D rendered art, but the background tells part of the story. If it's the character's environment, it reveals things about them you might not get from them alone. Are they messy or organized? Sophisticated or childish? If it's a different environment, is it safe or dangerous? Clear or mysterious? You can do some of that with an establishing shot but having some elements that tie back to it in future panels can be useful for maintaining the tone, especially if you're there long enough for the reader to forget, or if a part of the scene is going to be relevant (maybe the engine explodes or the door bursts open).

[NutshellComics]

everybody can know, no gatekeeping here

[NutshellComics]

when i first started back then i used these environmental brushes myself and it helped a lot to get a feeling for nature compostion. but ultimately to develop your own style you have to paint it yourself eventually

[NutshellComics]

Looks more like a style choice than cheating to me.
your characters are 3d, too, aren't they? it's a bit hard to decide on this pictures.
Honestly i'm not a fan of 2d character illustrations on top of 3d environments.
but nonetheless these backgrounds look well crafted, there's work visible, it's not cheating in my eyes.

[jwabeasley]

If your comic is entirely 3D rendered, a 3D rendered background isn't cheating, just like if you make a comic out of photos, then a photo background isn't out of place.

I was just criticizing comics that are 2D illustrations that use 3D environments without at least tracing them or doing anything else to make them fit with otherwise 2D art.