Your ideas and thoughts on my back drops. I was wanting hear what you thought of my backdrops. Its just sky and clouds and spots where I started to paint some trees. I have yet to add any of the many false front buildings. I plan on having many false front buildings where I build just the front of the building and in some places a 8 x 12 photo glued to a board where space is limited. But before I get to far into the buildings, I want to see what you all think of the sky line. There are two (2) things you should note before looking at the sky line photos. #1 is that you will notice that there are two layers of clouds with a space in between them, or in some case a big black line. This line represents the ground level line of the next level witch is not yet started. The clouds will already be there when I put up the next level. Thing #2 is that the clouds where made using spray paint from spray paint cans. I learned to use spray paint as a teen, not having the money for an are brush. I used 3 colors in my clouds. Flat white, light Gray and Dark blue. So please visit my web page at the listed below link, and let me know what you think. If I need to repaint the sky it would be better to know now then latter. Thanks Click here and look under back drops, You may also wish to look at the Round House section while you are there.
Sean: You've done a wonderful job on the backdrops. I also like your roundhouse area. Stay cool and run steam.....
Nice-looking layout and roundhouse! I play with the small stuff, but it seems you don't see many G scale layouts built indoors to the extent yours is. Here in Texas people build then as garden layouts. Adam
Sean, I'm going to be a little more critical and, I hope, also encouraging. You've made a great start on the basics. Your techniques and color sense are right on. What I'd like to see is a bit more variation in composition, color and texture. Composition. Now, in person, this may not be apparent but, from your webshots, your clouds seem to be lined up like battleships. I think a bit more variation in alignment, size, and shape might help it look more natural. This may not be the case in closer shots, and this is just a suggestion. Color. The webshots look a little bland to me. Nature uses a wild variety of colors, even on dismal days. I'd try adding a little red here, yellow there, deep blue here, perhaps just dabbing it on with the tip of a paintbrush. The Impressionists certainly did that. I plant my foliage trees (3D), and usually take out a spray bomb of yellow paint to give them a sunlit effect. I do the same on backdrops. Texture. I'm guessing here that you paint with a pretty stiff arm and wrist, trying to get the details just right. So perhaps you could loosen up a bit, and not try to draw everything. The best details come from a loose technique , where the brush mimics nature instead of drawing her. The best thing is that you can practice all of this at minimal cost! You can paint a scene over and over again until you like it. My wife thinks I'm a wild man when I'm doing a backdrop, a true Jackson Pollard. But I'm having great fun! If I don't like the result, I can either wipe it away with a coat of neutral paint and start over, or keep adding colors until I do like it. I hope I haven't been too harsh! These are very good backdrops that can be better. The whole thing is not to get too invested with your effort. I paint backdrops in five minute sessions, so that I don't get invested. Some turn out great in three or four sessions; others not so great. But I don't have much more than 30 minutes invested, so I'm free to start over or keep adding paint.
