Trying to create convincing backgrounds with vector drawing tools is quite a challenge. The problem with them is trying to get rid of the e-card feeling they convey. But why not stick to raster drawing? Raster tools, like Photoshop or Painter are quite powerful in this area and a day’s work will yield impressive results if you know how to use them properly. The only problem is that they are not scalable, so you have to spend a good amount of time planning pixel resolution and size, to get your shots right. Nothing like zooming in on your character, just to find that the trees behind her or him are pixelated. You don’t get that kind of trouble with vector tools.
Background Created in Toon Boom Studio 4
With vector drawings you get many advantages. First of all, you don’t have to wrestle a bitmap into TBS. Yes, you can import bitmaps easily, but lots of TBS features don’t work with them. Another important feature is that you can easily animate a vector background created within the application. The image above, for example, is made up of countless “elements” or layers containing a single piece of the drawing each. All you have to do is slide in another drawing element between the rocks and the river bed and with a few frames you can animate a watter ripple effect (I’ll post something about this effect in particular in a later post). Finally, setting up a multiplane shot is much easier if you draw the elements directly into Toon Boom.
Start with a rough sketch, drawing directly into TBS
What I do is I draw a rough sketch of what I want. Then I send that to the static light table and in a new element I create more rigourous perspective lines and visual aids. I send that to the static ligth table and on a third element I do cleanup lines and fill them with color. Sometimes you’ll find that things that were in the original rough don’t quite work the way you wanted them to. This is the time to make corrections. In some cases you don’t need perspective lines, and common sense will dictate what to do. Specially, when drawing nature. Turn on “Draw On Top Layer” in your “Tools” menu and paint like an artist with the brush tool. Construct depth by using at least three colors for every item (I’ll adress color and palettes in another post too; heey, we’re building a list!), and pay attention to details.
How about some color now?
These are from the project I’m currently working on. How do you like them so far? Leave me a comment or two. See ya next time.