WOOHOO! Good weather = time to build

[P5se Camelback]

... I decided to go with Russ and SP1's ideas of "less is more". And as docWayne said, "You want a backdrop to be noticeable only when you don't have one, so keep the details to a minimum."

I just couldn't not comment! You have discovered several undeniable truths! First is "Less is More," the main tenant of both Mimimalism and the Dutch De Stijl movement, and a driving force behind much of the work of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, German architect who began making a name for himself in the twenties, and was one of the founders of the industrial design discipline. He is also is known for the saying "God is in the Details."

The basic concept was to create an impression of extreme simplicity, by using every element and detail of a design to serve multiple visual and functional purposes, like careful placement of a tree to break up the skyline, carry the eye from one scene to the next, all the while simultaneouly hiding the fact that the road abruptly ends at the wall. Vehicles will also help here. (Don't worry too much about taking the road up the wall ... it limits the correct viewing angle of the scene to a head-on perspective. Judicious use of carefully placed view blocks and a few associated visual distractions will do the job .

... I'm finding out that lighter hazy colors are what needs to be used, even if the photos of the scenes are much more colorful and dark. ... it leaves a hue of the sky color showing through giving the hazy effect ...

Now ... the second important undeniable truth! The farther things are from the eye, the more atmosphere there is between the object and the eye, softening the edges and muting the colors of the object. That's why when you look at the mountains in the distance, each distant ridge is hazier and more muted in color than the one next closest. The same holds true for painting backdrops, and why they often present better than photo murals. The whole idea is known as "Trompe L'Oeil" (trump loy) ... literally, "deceive the eye." None of that stuff is actually there ... it's a wall!

But this is a background visual device, intended to convince the eye that the world continues ... "beyond." Once again ... Less is More!

... Here's the tough one, street straight into backdrop. The vehicles help break it up. But, it definitely needs work. I painted the road up on the backdrop almost 1/2", then tried to do background trees that hang over the road like the prototype. Those trees are way off in the distance, I haven't exactly capture that, but will keep working on it.

Gary, you are putting one foot in front of the other, walking down the road of visual discovery! I had to comment because it excites me to watch someone discover these things on their own! Seriously, I'm just lovin' it!

Keep working at it! You are definitely headed directly down the road to successful background painting that will "disappear in the haze of make believe," just as you intend it to do!

Bravisimo!

I didn't mean to teach a class in Design History or Illustration 101, but this stuff excites me!

Thanks for allowing me to indulge myself.

Class Dismissed!