Okay, as I’m getting more storyboards done, and as I’m approaching more re-writes on the pilot, I’m getting closer the problem of “how are we going to make background art for this animation?”
I’ve done artwork explorations using digital art, gouache paint, and watercolors, and the look I’ve really resonated with for the animation character art is watercolors. I love watercolors. Watercolor paintings have a certain life to them. I vibe with watercolors. I like working with them more than with opaque media.
The last time I did a background study, I put the question to the internet which looks better, and the pencil line work won by a landslide. So I set about doing another background test, this time only finishing the line art with pencils…
I think this art test came out okay. The design itself isn’t quite what I’m looking for, but this is a solid first draft.
Going further, I tested out which pencils would work better for final background art. Regular 2B pencils get washed out with watercolors. I would need a more hardy pencil than graphite. I busted out my old colored pencils from art school (13 years ago???) and it came to a question of two colored pencils: Verithins or the Aqua Monoliths.
Pillar in Verithin, sphere in Aqua Monoliths
The Verithins won.
So now let’s talk about Vaporwave aesthetic. I am obsessed with Vaporwave! Weird, mall music that speaks to the glory of a bygone era.
Silver Needle Academy is the standing memorial of a disaster from the past, so I realized it would be great to incorporate that white marble look into the design. I did a little practice around rendering marble materials.
I tried adding gold band textures and I’m loving it!
And It’s a success! I feel like I could push the actual background art a bit further for Silver Needle Academy’s design. I could add a few more buildings and scale up the needle, but this is a solid stopping point. I’m very excited for these backgrounds now!
Now I can’t wait to draw out the (incredibly short) adventures of Vaporwave Academy.
-Love, Joolz