How to Draw and Color Backgrounds plus Composition from Udemy

Welcome to How to Draw and Paint Backgrounds. I'm excited you're taking this course because you're a creative artist that wants awesome looking backgrounds. You're the reason I created this course and because many of my students requested it.

Beginner and established artists requested it.

If you're a beginner, you will learn step-by-step to draw and paint awesome backgrounds.

Even if you are already proud of your backgrounds, you will learn to draw and paint them on a whole new level.

You can do this. I know how I used to feel, like I would never draw or paint good backgrounds, landscapes, interiors, etc, but once I learned a few key points, I started to draw good backgrounds.

Making perspective easy.
Composition:
Learning how to use the basics of Google Sketchup that willgive you a jump start in drawing and painting backgrounds. It's almost like cheating,but great artists like the guy who draws for Dare Devil comics uses it.
How to use form in backgrounds.

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What's inside

Learning objectives

Draw backgrounds that have correct perspective and light and shadow.
Paint backgrounds with proper colors and tone.

Draw awesome backgrounds for their comics

Draw backgrounds that have correct perspective and light and shadow.
Paint backgrounds with proper colors and tone.
Draw awesome backgrounds for their comics

Syllabus

Let's get started

Why you should take this course

Concepts that will help you draw better backgrounds.

What is a background?

These are not hard rules. They are more like guidelines.

Having a center of interest
Area
Framing
Spacing
Value and Color
The 70/30 rule
Leading lines/Shapes. Patterns, symmetry
Depth.
Rule of thirds

Traffic lights

Read about what's good

what should give you pause

and possible dealbreakers

Teaches composition and perspective, which are essential for creating immersive and believable comic book panels and illustrations

Breaks down complex concepts like perspective and composition into easy-to-understand steps, making it accessible for those with limited experience

Explores the use of Google Sketchup, which can help artists streamline their background creation process and experiment with different compositions

Covers techniques for adding color, light, and shadow to backgrounds, which are crucial for creating visually appealing digital artwork

Examines nine rules of composition, which can help artists create more dynamic and engaging backgrounds

Includes a section on drawing a sci-fi background, which provides a practical example of how to apply the concepts learned in the course

Reviews summary

Drawing and coloring backgrounds fundamentals

Based on the course structure and stated objectives, this course appears designed to teach fundamental principles of drawing and coloring backgrounds, with a focus on composition and perspective. The syllabus suggests a step-by-step approach suitable for beginners, while also offering insights that could benefit more established artists. Topics covered include key composition rules, methods for creating depth, and techniques for inking and coloring. A unique aspect is the introduction to using Google Sketchup as a tool for background creation. The course includes various exercises to reinforce concepts.

Introduces a specific software tool.

"The inclusion of Google Sketchup is interesting; I'd like to see how it aids background creation."

"Using Sketchup sounds like a useful technique, almost like cheating as the description says, which could be a shortcut."

"I'm curious if Google Sketchup is still the most relevant tool for this now, but learning its use is noted."

Assignments help apply lessons learned.

"I like that there are exercises for arranging objects and applying composition rules."

"The sci-fi background exercise looks like a good way to practice inking and coloring techniques."

"Working through exercises for depth and rule of thirds would be beneficial for practical application."

"Having exercises linked to each main concept should help reinforce the learning."

Covers techniques for both line work and painting.

"I expect to learn not just drawing but also how to ink and add value and color to backgrounds."

"The detailed sections on coloring buildings, lights, ground, and characters seem comprehensive for a single background example."

"Learning proper colors and tone is listed as a key objective, which is important for painted backgrounds."

Explains perspective in an accessible way.

"The course description mentions making perspective easy, which would be very helpful."

"I anticipate gaining a basic understanding of perspective to draw realistic backgrounds."

"Learning perspective 'in a nutshell' sounds promising for getting the core concept quickly."

Introduces key rules for effective layout.

"I would expect to learn essential guidelines like center of interest, framing, and leading lines."

"Learning how to arrange objects and apply the 70/30 rule seems like a solid foundation for composition."

"The exercises covering each rule would help solidify understanding of layout principles."

"Understanding how area, spacing, and value contribute to a background's impact feels crucial."

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in How to Draw and Color Backgrounds plus Composition with these activities:

Review Perspective Drawing Fundamentals

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Reviewing perspective drawing fundamentals will help you grasp the concepts taught in the course more easily, especially the section on perspective.

Browse courses on Perspective Drawing

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Find online resources or textbooks on perspective drawing.
Practice drawing basic shapes in one, two, and three-point perspective.
Apply perspective principles to simple landscape sketches.

Read 'Framed Ink: Drawing and Composition for Visual Storytellers'

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Reading this book will provide a solid foundation in composition and visual storytelling, enhancing your ability to create engaging backgrounds.

View Framed Ink 2: Frame Format, Energy, and... on Amazon

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Read the book, paying close attention to the chapters on composition and perspective.
Analyze the examples provided in the book and try to replicate them.
Apply the principles learned to your own background drawings.

Practice Composition Exercises

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Performing composition exercises will reinforce your understanding of the rules of composition covered in the course.

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Choose a rule of composition (e.g., rule of thirds, leading lines).
Create three different background sketches that utilize that rule.
Repeat with other composition rules.

Four other activities

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Read 'Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter'

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Reading this book will deepen your understanding of color and light, improving your ability to paint realistic and visually appealing backgrounds.

View Dinotopia: Journey To Chandara (Calla Editions) on Amazon

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Read the book, focusing on the sections about color theory and lighting techniques.
Experiment with different color palettes and lighting scenarios in your background paintings.
Analyze the color and lighting in your favorite paintings and try to replicate them.

Create a Series of Background Studies

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Creating background studies will allow you to apply the concepts learned in the course and develop your own style.

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Select a theme (e.g., urban landscapes, fantasy forests).
Create five different background sketches based on that theme, experimenting with different perspectives and compositions.
Refine your sketches and add details.

Explore Advanced Coloring Techniques

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Exploring advanced coloring techniques will help you refine your painting skills and create more visually stunning backgrounds.

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Search for online tutorials on advanced coloring techniques (e.g., glazing, layering, color mixing).
Follow along with the tutorials and practice the techniques on your own background paintings.
Experiment with different techniques to find what works best for you.

Design Backgrounds for a Comic Panel

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Designing backgrounds for a comic panel will allow you to integrate all the skills learned in the course and create a finished product.

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Choose a comic panel or create your own.
Sketch out the background, paying attention to perspective, composition, and lighting.
Ink and color the background, adding details and finishing touches.

Career center

Learners who complete How to Draw and Color Backgrounds plus Composition will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

Comic Book Artist

A comic book artist creates the visual narrative of a comic book, and strong backgrounds are essential to their work. This course may be useful given it teaches how to draw backgrounds, using perspective, color, and composition. The course's focus on using light and shadow is beneficial for creating visual depth in the panels. A comic book artist uses backgrounds to set the scene, mood, and tone of the story. The course's emphasis on drawing landscapes, interiors, and sci-fi backgrounds directly applies to many settings used in comics, as well as the use of Google Sketchup. An artist who seeks to improve their backgrounds, should consider this course.

See salaries and explore the career path for Comic Book Artist

Illustrator

An illustrator creates images for use in books, magazines, and other media, and backgrounds are a part of these images. This course may be beneficial because it will help an illustrator improve their ability to draw and paint backgrounds. The course's focus on perspective, composition, and color can help illustrators produce more compelling and visually appealing artwork. An illustrator needs to understand how to arrange the visual elements to effectively communicate ideas and emotions. The course's exercises on arranging objects, setting the mood, value, and color are all relevant to an illustrator's work.

See salaries and explore the career path for Illustrator

Concept Artist

A concept artist creates visual representations of ideas for use in film, video games, and other media. This course may help concept artists improve their background drawing skills. The course's focus on drawing backgrounds, using perspective, composition, and light and shadow, helps concept artists produce more refined and compelling designs, which may include a range of environments such as landscapes, interiors, and sci-fi settings. The course's background focused content can help a concept artist better depict the worlds and environments they design. A concept artist can benefit from using Google Sketchup, as taught in the course.

See salaries and explore the career path for Concept Artist

Storyboard Artist

A storyboard artist creates a series of drawings to visualize a film, television show, or commercial. Backgrounds are key to this work. This course may be useful given its focus on drawing backgrounds that have correct perspective and light and shadow, as these are skills fundamental to a storyboard artist. The elements of composition, how to arrange objects, and set the mood, are key to conveying narrative in a storyboard. Also, this course focuses on painting backgrounds with proper colors, which is useful for those in this role. Storyboard artists wishing to improve their scenes should consider this course.

See salaries and explore the career path for Storyboard Artist

Video Game Artist

A video game artist creates the visual elements of a video game, including backgrounds and environments. This course may be useful given that video game artists need an understanding of perspective and composition to create immersive and engaging game worlds. This course focuses on these skills. The course's focus on drawing landscapes, interiors, and sci-fi backgrounds, as well as Google Sketchup, is directly applicable to a video game artist's work. A video game artist must also have expertise in using color and value, which this course touches on.

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Animation Artist

An animation artist creates moving images for film, television, and other media. Backgrounds are an important part of their work and this course may be beneficial. This course can help an animation artist refine their background skills. The course's focus on perspective, composition, and light and shadow helps an animation artist create more immersive and engaging scenes. The exercises for setting the mood through backgrounds are useful for creating atmospheric scenes. Also, the course's focus on how to use Google Sketchup is advantageous to an animation artist.

See salaries and explore the career path for Animation Artist

Graphic Designer

A graphic designer creates visual concepts to communicate ideas. This course may be helpful because graphic designers often incorporate backgrounds into their designs. The course's teachings in composition, arranging objects, and the use of color are all relevant to graphic design. Moreover, elements such as spacing, leading lines, and the rule of thirds are all useful for graphic design. While not all graphic design incorporates detailed backgrounds, improving one's skills in background creation can make for a versatile graphic designer.

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Art teacher

An art teacher educates students on various art techniques. This course may be useful because the techniques taught in the course are suitable for an art teacher to pass on to their students. Learning how to draw backgrounds is a fundamental skill for many artists, and the methods touched on in this course can help an art teacher better explain these concepts. The course's lessons on perspective, composition, and color are foundational principles that an art teacher might cover in their curriculum. The course's focus on using Google Sketchup can also be a useful teaching tool.

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Fine Artist

A fine artist creates artwork for aesthetic purposes, and backgrounds are an important part of their creations. This course may be useful given the focus on drawing and painting backgrounds, which allows a fine artist to enhance their work. The course's lessons on perspective, composition, and color theory may help a fine artist produce more sophisticated and compelling pieces. The course's focus on landscapes, interiors, and sci-fi backgrounds may be suitable for many subject matters a fine artist might choose. Fine artists who want to hone their techniques should consider this course.

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Web Designer

A web designer creates the visual layout of a website, including backgrounds. This course may be useful for a web designer because the principles of composition taught, such as the rule of thirds, spacing, and use of leading lines, relate to web design. A web designer also understands color value which they can hone in this course. The course's exercises on how to arrange objects and setting the mood are concepts applicable to web design. Not all web design includes detailed backgrounds, but background creation is a useful skill for a versatile web designer.

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Exhibition Designer

An exhibition designer creates the visual layout of exhibitions. This course may be useful for an exhibition designer as they need to consider background and composition to help convey a message. The course's lessons on how to arrange objects and set the mood are important for curating effective exhibitions. Also, an exhibition designer may use elements such as lighting, spacing, and framing, all of which are addressed in the course. Exhibition designers wishing to improve their curation can look to this course.

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Interior designer

An interior designer plans and designs the interior of buildings. This course may be helpful because it focuses on interiors, a common domain of an interior designer. They may benefit from the course's focus on perspective, light, and shadow, which are important aspects of creating a visual space. The course also touches on composition, arrangement of objects, and use of space. Interior designers can use the knowledge of Google Sketchup provided in the course.

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Industrial Designer

An industrial designer creates product designs. While an industrial designer may not specialize in backgrounds, understanding composition, perspective, and color theory is valuable for their work. This course may be helpful because it touches on these topics, especially with respect to composition and how to arrange objects. An industrial designer must consider the space around a product, and this course can help them learn background principles. An industrial designer who wishes to improve their skills in the domain of backgrounds can consider this course.

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Architect

An architect designs buildings and other structures. This course may be helpful as they will have an improved understanding of backgrounds, especially interior and landscapes, which are relevant to their work. The course focuses on perspective, light, and shadow, all of which are relevant to architectural design. An architect who seeks to sharpen their sense of composition, arrangement of objects, and the use of space will find elements of this course relevant. The course's mention of Google Sketchup, a useful architectural tool, is also beneficial.

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Fashion Designer

A fashion designer creates clothing designs. Although this course may not directly address fashion design, it may be useful because fashion designers often create mood boards, which may include backgrounds. The principles of composition, color, and perspective are useful skills for fashion designers. The course's lessons on how to arrange objects and use color, as well as Google Sketchup, might be interesting to a fashion designer. A fashion designer interested in backgrounds might consider this course.

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Reading list

We've selected two books that we think will supplement your learning. Use these to develop background knowledge, enrich your coursework, and gain a deeper understanding of the topics covered in How to Draw and Color Backgrounds plus Composition.

Framed Ink 2

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Fantastic resource for understanding visual storytelling through composition. It delves into how to use framing, perspective, and other techniques to guide the viewer's eye and create compelling backgrounds. It's a great reference for the composition and framing rules taught in the course. This book provides a deeper understanding of how to use backgrounds to enhance the narrative.

Framed Ink 2: Frame Format, Energy, and Composition...

Paperback

Dinotopia: Journey To Chandara

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Is an excellent resource for understanding color theory and how light interacts with surfaces. It provides practical advice on how to paint realistic colors and lighting effects, which is essential for creating believable backgrounds. This book is particularly useful for the sections on value, color, and painting backgrounds. It's commonly used by artists and illustrators.

Dinotopia: Journey To Chandara (Calla Editions)

Hardcover

How to Draw and Color Backgrounds plus Composition

What's inside

Learning objectives

Syllabus

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Reviews summary

Drawing and coloring backgrounds fundamentals

Activities

Career center

Reading list

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