I hate them too honestly. I want my characters to float in white space too... Doing comics has forced me to do backgrounds even though I rarely did before, and I have to say it helps with artistic improvement!...
That said, I still hate them.
I mean, yeah they're a chore to do, but they help so much with the cinematography of a story.
Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em. :/
One of the things that I work at constantly, as an artist, is complex backgrounds. Its easy to draw a character floating in space but making sure that they can interact in a "world" is much harder. I find drawing landscapes tedious but it's good practice for me.
I make myself do the things I don't like, ie drawing landscapes, because i cant progress as an artist if I dont. Talent will only get you so far, it's hard work and hundreds of pages of trash sketches that makes you great! As long as you learn from the trash sketches that is...
Backgrounds and landscapes are my biggest weakness as an illustrator. Does anyone have any advice on improving that?
Not any real advice apart from studying what the masters have done before you, but I will say this: it seems that when it comes to comics, mastering backgrounds is as much mastering what not to draw as it is what to draw.
I'm in awe of artists who are able to portray vast, detailed landscapes and settings without actually wasting time in drawing all that much detail. It's something I'm constantly working and probably failing on. It must be something that comes with years of experience and practise, but when it works, I actually prefer it to a background that's just detail detail detail, which can be overwhelming to the eye.
Fake it till you make it.
I'm grinding my way through perspective training and boxes. This will take a long time but it'll be worth it.
I don't drawing backgrounds because they usually don't look that good and I am so worried about over cluttering the BG. Most of the time, I just wing it and hope it will come out OK. I also try to avoid straight line tools due to it not fitting with the aesthetics of the drawn characters.
However, when I see good BGs in comics, I LOVE them. I also get so jealous. I also really like landscape paintings.
@Kimoisempai I think your third panels looks nice.
The BG on the first panel looks a bit high. Maybe lower it a bit.
I'm not too crazy about the composition of the 2nd panel....but whatever, that is just me.
I know what you mean. There's a really fantastic artist on youtube called Mark Crilley, the only thing that bothers me about his style is how dense the backgrounds are,
Have you considered working with 3D programs like Sketchup for your basic backgrounds?
This is actually a very good idea in terms of speed and ease, doing backgrounds with a program like Blender, Sketchup, 3DS Max, Maya, etc. Would really help when trying to make pages, especially if you're trying to get them to look proportionally correct and get them done in a timely manner. My comic uses 3D modeling in Blender for both characters and backgrounds (Although the characters have to be tweaked due to my style), which allows me to correct proportions, distance, and create awesome suits of armor that are the basis of the story 
Yes, sketchup is completely free. You can buy a more advanced version, but for comic-ing the free version is more than enough.
You can also download free models that people share from the sketchup warehouse.
...I love backgrounds! ::ducks bricks::
But for real-- ::dodges flying tomatoes:: ...if you use programs like SketchUp--: :avoids tossed chairs:: ...-it can really help!
By using SketchUp-- ::slides under table to avoid crashing dishes:: ...you can create complex backgrounds-- ::peeks out from under the table:: ...with minimal effo--::gets beaned in the head with a well aimed text book:: OW!!--...minimal effort. x.X
It helps my team make stuff like this in very little time. 
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10 days later
I can't draw backgrounds well at all right now but I'm hoping with practice that will change? It's painfully obvious in my first page how I used the line tool as this is my first digital (or public) comic. But as hard as it is, I'm determined to actually draw more of my backgrounds from this point on. 
Man you're not alone on this. I can draw characters with ease but once a back ground comes in and god forbid it's a city scape, it's all down hill from there...it looks so shitty compared to other artists who add so much detail. And I always hope my perspective is ok.
Two things....
1. Backgrounds can be tough... but I don't think every panel needs to have a background. In my comic, I choose to sometimes omit the background, and when done right, it enhances the story. Many mangas successful use this "technique".
2. I came up with a helpful trick for doing backgrounds using a free program called Sweet Home 3D8. This trick requires a time commitment, but it's worth it if your comic takes place inside the same house/building for many pages. I used the software to create a 3D image of the building/house that exists in the story. You can also add furniture. Once completed, the software allows you to visually "walk through" your structure. You can adjust the view to get any viewpoint/angle you want! So just get the view you want for the background, and copy it. Bam! No measuring, dealing with vanishing points, perspective points, etc. Of course, as a comic artist, I personally believe you should know how to draw backgrounds realistically. But this trick can save a lot of time and yield some dead on and perspectively sound backgrounds!
Backgrounds usually can take most part of my time in a panel and that's frusdtrating sometimes.. My comic NEEDs to have BGs and the entire first chapter was outside, in a city... wasn't easy for someone who had just recently learned to draw it properly ans witn descent perspective.
Note: I really dislike this program people use to do 3D BGs... seems so... artificial...
