What’s your stance on 3d background?

[Rhonder]

I'm admittedly not a big fan of 3D assets dropped into otherwise 2D comics. Especially for those that, like you say, do little-if-anything to try to integrate them and make them feel like they "belong" in the rest of the world I definitely understand why people use them and usually don't drop a story because of those sorts of assets unless they're just really horribly implemented, but I'm borderline in the same "I would rather there just be no background or even a far simpler one that actually matched the drawing style rather than these very out-of-place looking elements" category.

[Kaydreamer]

I'm all for taking shortcuts where needed - copying assets across pages, eyeballing (and even, god forbid, tracing where you're really time-pressed) 3d and figure reference, (so long as you have the licence for it), creating one big environment and copy-pasting bits of it everywhere, and so-on. But when the shortcut you've taking is so jarring it comes at the expense of reader immersion, that's not a good shortcut. I'm thinking, like you, of those 3D background assets from Clip Studio which everyone uses.

At least change up elements of it! Trace over it to help with perspective if you need to, but add your own architectural flair and small decorative elements so it doesn't look like everybody else's palace interior or whatever else.

I create and hand-draw my background elements because the environment choices you make set a tone and a narrative for your worldbuilding which you just can't get using pre-made and generic 3D assets.

[zvein]

I’ve thought about tracing too, not for me, but for those who deem it necessary to use 3d backgrounds, so the result will match the overall art style better, but i don’t know the condition of each artist whether they have the resource to do so(the featured ones) or enough salary to cover assistant or some sort. Also webcomic has this unhealthy standards to produce so much panels per update and i know that must have been extremely exhaausting hence the often hiatuses in between and that makes me feel bad about it.

[zvein]

I’ve definitely more ok with non featured ones because hey it’s just a hobby for them and they can make whatever they want, though i’ll still grind my teeth whenever i’ve spotted some that really test my patience —they don’t change the 3d at all and the texture clashes so horribly with the overall beautiful 2d characters. It’s just conflicting feeling

[zvein]

The gold standard would be hand drawn, and some do really hand drawn them and i’m amazed at how they keep up with it each week(featured ones) but it’s not realistic if they work solo on it with so many panels expected for each update. But i wish they do something about it not only just add lighting on the assets and pretend everything’s grand.

[VibrantFox]

this topics comes up almost monthly now but it's 100% normal and okay to reference 3d models.

some folks will straight up put 3d models in their comic which in that case the okayness kind of varies but usually if it's a free to use asset, paid for, or self made then it's pretty much fine. webcomics are a lot of labor so using tools to make things easier is normal and despite popular beliefs actually recommended.

Some folks are capable of drawing things 100% on their own but that's because of tremendous amounts of time spent studying, practicing and improving that skill but it's also not without referencing.

Personally I don't really care if someone uses 3d backgrounds or other elements so long as it fits with the style. and that's specifically referring to the elements being mixed into the art not those standard, comes with the program, has zero editing done comics that used 3d models for everything (that's another rabbit hole in a can of worms)

but yeah 3d backgrounds are okay so long as it fits well with the rest of the art otherwise you risk killing the immersion in your story

[clockworkzari]

Well, all things considered besides the labor, time, making sure it's copyright free, the main question comes down to "is it ugly or not."

Really that is the question that people tend to ask! And the answer is; it is as ugly as you make it. If you just copy paste a 3D bg it won't look great, but some people know this and do it for time. But if you put in the extra work to either draw over it or somehow edit the colors/do some filtering on it, that can increase the looks. But that's more time so some people can't/won't do that.

In the end, 3D backgrounds can look great or ugly depending on how you do it, like anything else in art. If you hate em you hate em, but they're not going away in our new webtoon, churn it out, fast paced world.

[thedude3445]

What I really want to see is a story that uses 3D backgrounds as an incorporated part of the art style rather than something that tries to be quiet or ignored.

I mean stuff like old N64/PS1 games, like the first Paper Mario, or Parapla the Rapper, or the Hercules PS1 game, or Pokemon Black and White. 2D art put against low-poly 3D backgrounds in order to achieve a cool artistic effect. And games are limited in what they can achieve; comics with this sort of style could go in so many really cool directions!

[skippyjoeskilling]

I think it definitely can look good, but 3d art is a skill totally separate from drawing. If someone can actually make a 3d background that fits well with their drawn style, then good forth. I use 3d backgrounds for my comic, but I always trace over it, and then add details and colors by hand.

[dreamysheep.01]

For me it depends, uneditted 3d backgrounds etc can really break the immersion for me but I think they're a valuable tool when the time's taken to integrate them into the comic properly.
Personally I overpaint 3D models for some of my backgrounds (along with my own photos and free to use ones online - always check the license details). I also sometimes trace the 3D models for difficult or time-consuming items/poses. CSP provides these assets for a reason, might as well use them lol

This is one of the backgrounds I overpainted from a 3d model on CSP

And I even used 3d models for everything on this page but Dana's bed and her tablet pen since I was struggling a lot with the poses/perspective and wanted to get this page done with as soon as possible. The images on her tablet/laptop screen are also just screenshots from my own tablet

[CyberAxl]

Like others have already said, when it's not jarring or so obvious that it's being used and can give a solid quality while saving time I don't mind it.

That being said, I prefer hand-drawn or at least people using 3D as a reference and tracing to keep the look consistent.

A lot of popular comics I see have used 3D models then simply blurred the background then drawn over it with their characters. This seems lazy to me but also just gives me an immediately different feel. However, if you're getting paid to crank out tons of comics I understand the work around.

[thecrystalrook]

A lot of us hand-drawers just reuse panels. Or we create hand drawn assets and throw them into the background as needed. If a building is shown multiple times for ex, I would just draw it from a couple of different angles and reuse them as many times as needed.

[SpavVy]

I will admit that I'm not fond of the look most of the time but I can understand if an author is working for a company like Webtoon and has to work fast. I often use 3D models and stock images to save time but I just draw over them and sometimes add personal touches.

[SynergyEclipse]

They can be useful to save time, or create a background with the right perspective. I use 3D backgrounds in some episodes. The background and fountain in this scene were modeled, but I traced over most of it to blend it in:

Several of the 3D backgrounds I made in other episodes weren’t blended in, but that was a stylistic choice to make the scenes look more otherworldly.

3D backgrounds that aren’t edited to blend in are usually distracting for me, unless there’s a stylistic choice to justify it, like if the scene has an intentionally unsettling atmosphere. I can understand though if a creator has to make a lot of panels under a tight deadline that blending the backgrounds in would be a lower priority.

[noenoh]

Ive never used them cause I havent had the time to do so, but I want lol I want I make my life easier xD but I dont want to make it weird or different to my style??

[starless]

A great example! I occasionally use Sketch Up 3d models as well. Lots of concept artists in game industry do too.

[MeltingCORE]

I prefer to hand-paint my own manga but I'm not going to make fun of those who use 3D assets. However, yes... I do have to agree that when I see character art placed over a barely edited asset it does feel... jarring. I don't really like the contrast because it doesn't look quite right. I understand "work smarter, not harder" but eh... I do wish more care was placed into blending the foreground characters with the background art in a lot of the featured comics. Again, not making fun of the popular comics nor do I think I'm better - just my critique!

My backgrounds tend to look like this vvv (the downside though is it does take more time but it makes me happy so it's ok)

[noenoh]

so cool!!!!!

[MeltingCORE]

Aw, thank you!

[gmaximin]

the downside though is it does take more time but it makes me happy so it's ok

I think that’s it right there... and in the end I think it shows... especially with time... but I don’t think that’s a model that’d be economically efficient...
Especially webtoons model feels more fast comics (consumption side at least), not gourmet food... so 3D assets just make sense... even poorly integrated, because bg matter less than addictive stories, simple dialogue (simple is the hardest thing to do...!), engaging storytelling / paneling, gorgeous faces and emotions... I feel these matter much more to hook readers, and artists should probably spend more time on that... Even more so for readers on phone screens packed in subways (like me)...

So my stance: I love personal backgrounds, they show artist’s personality and sensibility; and obvious third party assets thrown there with little rework is... huh... a missed opportunity to say it nicely. But to make an economically successful webtoon, poorly integrated bg is fine as long as the time you save there is spent to improve other aspects more important for that particular type of comics...