In order to create my backgrounds, I did initially attempt to draw the buildings but they were looking tacky and not of high quality so I felt kind of stumped on how I was going to be able to create my cityscape background. I then started watching a few youtube videos especially the ones on how anime artists create their backgrounds and I realised alot of it was tracing. A lot of the artist would trace the scenery very much like the one below but add their own style and colours to the drawing. I never considered tracing but I realised that this was going to be the most time efficient method for me to use along with the best quality of image.
Here is my moodboard for colours and inspiration which I continued to refer to.
Although using the buildings as a guideline was quicker in some respect, I did still have to make all the tiny windows and shading and layers which was still extremely time consuming.
Once I had finished with all my layers and had gone in with the illuminosity and shading tools I took my image into Paintstorm where I added the foliage and the clouds to give the buildings the old and worn down apocalyptic look.
heres a screenshot just to demonstrate how I’ve decided to go about compositing these backgrounds. Each layer is kept separate and is converted into a PNG file where I plan to composite them all together and edit them on After Effects. This way it is so much easier to add realistic light and shadow when you can select the layers seperately.
CCH-Animation Degree 