Tips on creating background faster

[Yitcomics]

I know that making an awesome background takes time,but i'm not interested in making an awesome background,"a decent and can be used in a game" background is all I need,from there I can improve little by little.The problem is it's taking too long for me finish a background and I need speed,as much speed and good enough looking and usable background as I can.

Tell me what I need to do to train myself,any tips,also this is the process in creating my background,I never really watch many tutorial on how to draw background before and I just learn perspective recently,just want to point that out.So creating backgrounds with value and shape is something new for me(learned in Background Workshop 2)so not sure how to do that yet.This is the process and I hope you can point out how I can improve or get faster by doing things differently:

Step 1
Take a character as a reference so that all scaling will based on that character.I put the horizon line very high up to reduce scaling as much as possible,then I create a grid so that I can draw calculate the scaling of every object,cause if I don't I fear i might draw something too big or too small and its hard for me to give a depth for an object without the grid(correctly anyway),I don't really care about being too perfect but I'm just not sure how "off" I am with the scaling without the grid:


I just fear this might happen without the grid,I know its exaggerated but you get my point,everything is way out of proportion:


Step 2
Do all the necessary boxes and lines to shape the object(the sink image below):


Step 3
Erase all the lines and boxes and start to put basic color:


Step 4
Repeat the process for all of the object and color them all:


Step 5
Add lighting last,im not too sure if my lighting is correct and don't have much knowledge on lighting but I did my best:


By showing how I make my background,maybe someone can understand my dilemma better and give me the appropriate tips

[Blondbraid]

I can't tell which paint program you are using, but by using transparent layers on to of
each other you can easily draw on top of your sketches instead of going through the trouble
of erasing them first, and it makes it easier to move objects around. When it comes to
perspective, straight lines and 90 degree angles can make it look a bit artificial.
After all, Francis Bacon said that “There is no exquisite beauty… without some strangeness in the proportion.”
It might also be a good idea to use other pictures as a reference, the fastest way
would probably be to google for photos for comparison.

[SilverSpook]

The way I do things, which let's me speed up the lighting process but increases painting complexity, is I just paint things as I want them to be lit.  If I'm feeling particularly pretentious I'd say I'm engaging in impressionism, but essentially I just estimate the lighting conditions and paint objects with colors that are striking and emphasize the mood of the room, rather than worrying about the specific spatial-photonic details of the room (accurate drop-off, ambient occlusion, all of that).  In this way I also tend to fudge / estimate the perspective and paint whatever feels like it should go there.  Although I do have a basic sketch of things to make sure nothing is terribly retardedly out-of-proportion -- such as a car with a sideview mirror the size of the rear window.

But this is a more capital-A "Art" srt style that you kind of have to sell by making things extra interesting and striking.  Otherwise people might figure out you're just a lazy bastard.

[Grok]

I would do that background this way. It's about 1 hour of work. In my mind a perfectly serviceable background.



I use Firealphaca for line work and basic coloring, and Gimp for additional touchups.

I use lots of layers (different layors for linework and colors, different sets of layers for different objects. Sometimes I do the final shadow work for the whole scene on a separete layer on top of the rest with a semi transparent setting). I save different stages of the work in files with different names.

I use perspectiv very losely. Being very strikt with perspectiv drawing you can get a very stiff looking picture.
The important thing is that the picture effectivly tells the story. If "cheating" gets the job done, cheat.

I don't use a birds eye perspective much. I want to do the characters basically as side view and I want backgrounds that works well with that.

Draw a lot. That's the best way to get a feeling for what works for you.

Well that is my 5 cents worth of opinion.

[Mandle]

I would do that background this way. It's about 1 hour of work. In my mind a perfectly serviceable background.



I use Firealphaca for line work and basic coloring, and Gimp for additional touchups.

I use lots of layers (different layors for linework and colors, different sets of layers for different objects. Sometimes I do the final shadow work for the whole scene on a separete layer on top of the rest with a semi transparent setting). I save different stages of the work in files with different names.

I use perspectiv very losely. Being very strikt with perspectiv drawing you can get a very stiff looking picture.
The important thing is that the picture effectivly tells the story. If "cheating" gets the job done, cheat.

I don't use a birds eye perspective much. I want to do the characters basically as side view and I want backgrounds that works well with that.

Draw a lot. That's the best way to get a feeling for what works for you.

Well that is my 5 cents worth of opinion.

I must agree right here that if you are an indie game dev and working with limited time:

Just get the game OUT THERE!!!

It does not matter if your backgrounds are not up to triple-A game standards...

Just release a game that is playable and FUN!!!

The mechanics of the gameplay are what really matter to players moreso than if every single pixel looks super-pretty...

SO let's see a lot more games with iffy graphics and super-entertaining gameplay!

THIS IS INDIE!!!

[AnasAbdin]

I don't think you need to be Picasso to create that awesome background you are not intending to make

Your technique is great. I just have little pointers that I hope may help make it easier for you to manage in your example. I see the room is way too big with a lot of unused space. This forced you to place elements far away from each other. Remember even for higher resolution rooms you don't need to cover the entire screen for all backgrounds. The variations in rooms sizes actually makes the game less boring. You'll be surprised how easier it gets when practicing and managing light source(s) in smaller rooms with different elements. The little details matter the most IMO. In your example for instance, the gutter cover could be placed in the center of the room and aligned perfectly with the tiles. I'm not sure if you intended to reflect some of the light in the mirror, I don't think the current angle and lighting of the room allow it to be this obvious.

[Yitcomics]

Appreciate all the advice guys ,@grok I think one of the few problem is(for me anyway)when I start to learn anything new I always follow strictly by the rules,I'm just not sure how to cheat properly yet(I think I need a "How to cheat perspective in adventure game" guide heheh.).

I know I need too loosen up with the perspective,but this my first time handling background with perspective and a character is going to move around and scaling is going to happen at each step(I guess it kinda make me went nuts on how to handle everything).

I hope more people will give me good advice and I will try my best to improve myself

[Grok]

Appreciate all the advice guys ,@grok I think one of the few problem is(for me anyway)when I start to learn anything new I always follow strictly by the rules,I'm just not sure how to cheat properly yet(I think I need a "How to cheat perspective in adventure game" guide heheh.).

I know I need too loosen up with the perspective,but this my first time handling background with perspective and a character is going to move around and scaling is going to happen at each step(I guess it kinda make me went nuts on how to handle everything).

I hope more people will give me good advice and I will try my best to improve myself

Don't worry. You're doing fine.
Learning where you can take shortcuts (sounds nicer than cheating) comes with time and experience.

My opinion and how I do things is just my way. It is not necessarily right for you.

[CatPunter]

Photobashing.

It's basically what the pros use in studio settings. There's absolutely nothing wrong with finding some pictures and hacking them apart or tracing them to get the desired block in, then slapping in your sprites or characters to check the scale. You can get some really gross wonky stuff going on if you're not careful but if you have a good understanding of how to make backgrounds in the first place it'll be easy for you. I would be really careful about how you choose to do it though, I've seen a lot of adventure game backgrounds which are wholesale collage pieces where nothing makes sense and everything is really out of place.

[Yitcomics]

Photobashing.

It's basically what the pros use in studio settings.

Cool,never heard the term before,not sure if this is the way I want to go but hey,i'm here to learn new things and maybe this will help me in the long run.

[CatPunter]

Photobashing.

It's basically what the pros use in studio settings.

Cool,never heard the term before,not sure if this is the way I want to go but hey,i'm here to learn new things and maybe this will help me in the long run.

Here's a pretty good example on youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_dVEdU6ZQE

Try it out and see how it works for you!

[Yitcomics]

I decided to redraw all of my background again since i'm taking a different approach,so i'm almost finished drawing the SAME background again.Its still missing the entrance door if you're wondering how do I enter the bathroom and some minor details.But I just wanted to show it to you guys right away ,this time I manage to correct some of the mistake from the old image and improve on some of the things.

The reason it took a long time for this background to finish was because of i was experimenting(shape and value,photobashing,etc) and learn more about lighting.There wasn't any complicated perspective other than the floor.This is just a guess but I think it took me probably 1 week(minus the experementing),where as the old background probably took 2 weeks or almost three.Its an improvement but I hope I can train myself to be faster (Oh and if anyone wondering,i'm using Painter 12).



The red dot in the picture above is the vanishing point,I forgot to remove it
For anyone who doesn't know,i've already mention in the past that i'm making a game similar to clock tower,so I did take a few inspiration from CT bathroom

[selmiak]

Now this is getting atmospheric!
The red dot is probably not intentional. The granny floating in darkness is creepy as hell when I first saw her. The viewer might actually see a reflection of that in the mirror. I'd try to get rid of the black lines on the toilet and shade it more like the sink. Add a showerhead to the tub and maybe put something on those walls over the tub. Either mold or make it also tiles, every bathroom I know has tiles where the tub is, even the clocktower inspiration pic.

[Frikker]

I agree. The left half looks good,  but the right half looks amazing. You can kind of notice the difference between the old part and the new part you have done after getting better. Now you have to go back over the left section and polish it up to be as amazing as the right . my only other comment is that the lightbulb above the bath is closer to the back wall than the floor, yet it casts no light on the wall directly behind it but there is a strong highlight on the floor. It just looks slightly wrong in my opinion.
not sure the best way to go about sorting that though as personally i think you would lose the atmospheric quality by lightening any parts. Maybe a light shade to lessen the outward glow of the bulb without affecting it downwards?
love the candles too , very cool but watch out for the health and safety guys, they wont like that fire hazard one bit
keep up the good work.

[WHAM]

Sort of maybe related...

I once recorded myself drawing a room (video is a 3x speed).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dZf5HpANqQ

I start off with a simple gray box. Since I usually design all my rooms and their relation to one another first, I have a good idea on what shape and size a room needs to be when I start. Then its off to designing wall textures and furniture, usually based on some light google image searching and imagination. The room you see here took about 2,5 hours to draw, so it's not exactly a guide on how to draw fast or anything.

[Yitcomics]

Appreciate the tips and criticism guys,this is gonna be my final update on the image,the only thing I haven't draw is the shower curtain(for whatever reason I choose to draw it later).I did rushed on a few details cause I was getting tired of this background lol,and I need to move on cause there's tons of background yet to be drawn.So... yeah