Ninja July 28th, 2008

Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve done one of these.

Q: Hi… I can’t think of a background at all. I’m pretty good at drawing people, but I suck so hard at backgrounds, and it turns out that backgrounds are what my teacher wants to see. So I guess I’m asking you how to actually go about and do a background for a self portrait.

A: Hi Stormie! Ah, backgrounds. Backgrounds can be quite challenging, but they are very important as they set the stage for your narrative and give your image a sense of place. Backgrounds can be either architecture, natural environment, or abstract. In the interest of not having this post run too long, I will provide tutorial links.

A few things to keep in mind as you form your background:

How does your subject inhabit this space?

What objects does your subject interact with to make this place you’ve created seem more believable?

Do your research! Make sure locations, clothing, hairstyles, architecture are accurate for the time and place of your image.

I was originally going to upload work from working illustrators, but instead, I’ve dug through my collection of student art work to give you some inspiration.

Interiors

I’ve provided three examples from different artists who have all chosen bedrooms for their settings. Even though they all have the bedroom setting in common, the lighting, tones, textures, and perspective set a different mood in each image.

Erin McGuire, Ringling College of Art and Design

Megan Inghram, Ringling College of Art and Design

Michelle Lamoreaux, Southern Utah University

Tutorial link
+ Basic linear perspective tutorial

Buildings and the great outdoors

Andrea Rhodes, San Jose University

Mike Burdick, College for Creative Studies

Owen Freeman, Art Center College of Design

Tyler Garrison, Savannah College of Art and Design

Tutorial links
+ Drawing outdoor environments tutorial—video
+ Drawing outdoor environments tutorial—from thumbnail sketch to final

Tones and gradients

Colors and gradients can be used to make your subject stand out in contrast to the background or make your subject recede into the background space.

Christine Kornacki, Hartford Art School

Jason Rood, Grand Valley State University

Natalya Kolosowsky, University of Arizona

Tyler Hildebrand, Ringling College of Art and Design

Negative space

Charles Chaisson, Ringling College of Art and Design

Kyle Schuler, Minneapolis College of Art and Design

Tutorial links
+ Using negative space to improve compositions

Patterns

Ashley Benham, California College of Arts

Ellen Brown, Pratt Institute

Tutorial links
+ Creating geometric patterns Illustrator tutorial
+ Creating seamless patterns Illustrator tutorial

Clothing

Clothing serves a big part of building the narrative and making the scene complete. Your subject’s choice in clothing tells quite a bit about him/her.

We were concerned that she didn’t make her re-appearance in the same, tired old clothes that she bowed out in some twelve years ago. What was alternative, upsetting, anarchic, and just plain odd-ball back then has since become common place. Mainstream media smothers us daily with punky chic, and modern day babies can be seen sporting spikey hairdos and Travis Bickle T-shirts. The uniform of the cultural revolutionary has been sold to The Man. So how to rebel? How give the finger to the fashion fascists? Normal is the only way ahead. Dress like a high school teacher from the mid-eighties, or pick clothes from your boring aunty’s wardrobe. The only way left to rebel is to dress like you’re not rebelling.

– Ashley Wood on Tank Girl’s new wardrobe

Chelsea Lewyta, Pratt Institute

Kyungduk Kim, Art Center College of Design

Tutorial link
+ Clothing and folds tutorial

Tips

Draw from life. Go out, sit at your favorite spot, and sketch it. Or if you don’t have the luxury of time, take a photo. This will give you the opportunity to check the angle of your lines and the scale of your objects in the comfort of your own home.

I can draw trees from my imagination only because I’ve studied them. There are different types, all with different leaves and different growing patterns. I’ve grown familiar with their bark textures and roots. It’s all in the details. When drawing unfamiliar things from my imagination, I tend to leave out crucial details or over-simplify things—I can’t draw cars for beans without reference.

Build up your visual library in your mind and in your sketchbook. Clip out or photocopy interesting photographs from magazines and store them. I have a binder somewhere from high school of just women’s eyes. I, ahem, have gotten quite lazy about keeping up with a reference library, but it’s a good habit to start!

I hope that helps. Good luck!!

Happy drawing,

Ninja ^______^

Got any more burning questions? Feel free to email me at ninja [at] ninjavspenguin [dot] com. Penguin is also available to answer questions, too! He can be reached at penguin [at] ninjavspenguin [dot] com.

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Tags: Andrea Rhodes, Ask Ninja, Christine Kornacki, Erin McGuire, Megan Inghram, Michelle Lamoreaux, Mike Burdick, Owen Freeman, Tutorials, Tyler Garrison

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