In this post I will explain the process of creating the background for the dinosaur.
My thought process started with picking a place for the character to be at and I had many different ideas for it, in the living room, in someone's room, in a doghouse, even though the character is not a dog, but it is still a pet. I thought about that and brainstormed and decided to place the character outside.
I already had it pretty clear in my head how I the outside would look like, because I have drew the outside once in the window views. I wanted to make it all pretty bald and a few empty trees in the background. I wanted it look a little bit isolated. I thought it would only add to the design.
I started the same way I would start with every other image. I lowered the opacity of the character so I could get a sense of the background and then I would sketch out what I can see happening behind them. Of course I am just creating a very static image because I do not want to take the attention from the character themselves. After I have a rough sketch done, I change my brush to Plume Studio brush and start outlining the background elements so I can use the bucket tool to fill it with color.
This is pretty much how my work process looked like. I used exactly the same shades for the ground, sky and the trees that I used in the image of the mom. I have decided to 'cut' some of the trees, so there is a hint that there is something outside of this particular drawing, a hint that there is a world created - not only this image. I wanted there to be a sense of space and realism. I have also added two bowls, so it is indicated that the animal is a pet that gets their food in the bowls like a pet dog would.
When I created the main background, I had to think about the light source and the shadows. Shadows can really make or break the design, therefore I really wanted to get it right. This time, I have learned from my mistakes and I could have done the shadow work on a separate layer. I have forgotten to do so on my 'dad' background, so I am glad I remembered this time and made my work a little bit easier. I decided the light would come from where the viewer is at, so the shadow would be behind the dinosaur. I think it is important to remember that the shadow is not an exact replica of a human's body but that it is deformed. For example stretched or shrank, depending on where the sun is.
I did not need to know the exact placement of the sun because I am just creating a shadow, so I am in control of placing the sun and the shadow. It would be less in my control if I was placing the sun somewhere on the image. Then the thought process would have to be a lot more in depth and I would have to think about the subject mathematically. It is a very interesting process because there the mathematical Thales theorem is involved and it is a fairly complicated thing to get right. Here I needed just a basic outline which could have been deformed a little bit because it is just simply a shadow.
When I had everything colored in, I could finally look at the outcome and decide whether I like it or not and I truly like this one. I think the dinosaur really stands out on this background because of its color. I think the shadows look right and the background is simple and doesn't draw too much attention. I am happy with this design.
Here is the final outcome and I must say, I am very pleased with it.
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