02-27-2011, 06:52 PM
Very cool stuff, biL. Thanks for the thoughts, and now I'll be thinking even more about all this as I do the backdrop.
I noticed that too. Once I had the buildings in place, vehicles all over, and trees, the background (even straight down the road) doesn't hardly stand out. I think visitors will be too busy looking at the layout to notice that behind the road looks weird. Especially when the trains are running.
I had it in my head that the above was true, but for the backdrop, my first instinct was to paint it exactly like the photos. So I started out doing that. In the real picture, way off in the distance, there are trees that seemingly go across the road from each side, almost meeting in the middle. And, these trees are quite dark in the photo. But when I painted it that way, it was obviously not working. Vicki came out and saw it, and said "Looks like the truck is going the crash into those trees." So then I took my sky blue color and painted over the trees to get rid of them... but one coat of blue left the trees showing through, albeit hazy - woah! Now that looks like trees off in the distance! So I learned something right there which will help for the rest of the layout. There will be quite a few places where there are just trees on the horizon. I now have two techniques for them... a diluted wash of "tree color" which will leave the sky color showing through, or paint the trees in and then go over them with the blue. Anyway, point is, painting exactly like the photo isn't the proper thing to do.
Thanks biL, for the thoughts and encouragement!
P5se Camelback Wrote: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 noticed that too. Once I had the buildings in place, vehicles all over, and trees, the background (even straight down the road) doesn't hardly stand out. I think visitors will be too busy looking at the layout to notice that behind the road looks weird. Especially when the trains are running.
P5se Camelback Wrote: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!
I had it in my head that the above was true, but for the backdrop, my first instinct was to paint it exactly like the photos. So I started out doing that. In the real picture, way off in the distance, there are trees that seemingly go across the road from each side, almost meeting in the middle. And, these trees are quite dark in the photo. But when I painted it that way, it was obviously not working. Vicki came out and saw it, and said "Looks like the truck is going the crash into those trees." So then I took my sky blue color and painted over the trees to get rid of them... but one coat of blue left the trees showing through, albeit hazy - woah! Now that looks like trees off in the distance! So I learned something right there which will help for the rest of the layout. There will be quite a few places where there are just trees on the horizon. I now have two techniques for them... a diluted wash of "tree color" which will leave the sky color showing through, or paint the trees in and then go over them with the blue. Anyway, point is, painting exactly like the photo isn't the proper thing to do.
P5se Camelback Wrote: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!
Thanks biL, for the thoughts and encouragement!