In the following article we will show you the importance of the backgrounds in the comic, what do they contribute, are they really important? Undoubtedly, an indispensable element, to show a scenario in which we are trapped!
We will give you valuable information about the importance of backgrounds, read on!
You will have to make decisions What do you want to convey? Look at the vignette.
In each vignette, we have to decide whether it will have a flat background or elements and details. Each decision will give something different to the vignette.
The background can bring atmosphere or clarity to your cartoon, sometimes you will need to show where the events take place.
At other times, you will need to reinforce what is happening in the cartoon, at other times, you will represent sensations, and at other times, you will not draw it at all, thus giving clarity to the elements that are in the foreground.
Each of these decisions has its contribution to the story, to the visual interest, to the composition of the page and the vignette.
It is ideal to vary these examples to generate a playful and rhythmic narrative.
The importance of backgrounds in comics, the advantages and disadvantages they bring in each case
The background is an important element in the narration of the story. In traditional storytelling, it usually starts with a general shot (background from far away).
The camera is moved closer to show the main elements with a closer background. Then we move on to show the main elements without a background, or with an unobtrusive background.
This way, we know where our story takes place, who the main characters are, and how they interact with the setting.
You can choose to tell your story the other way around to make the reader feel uneasy. Start by showing a character up close, without showing the background, so that the reader can then discover where the story takes place.
If you use a figurative one, you will make the place known and you will also be able to show the location of the characters. This can help you, for example, in a conversation.
This background adds depth to the vignette, you can work with a great depth (an open space, for example). How can you place the character near a wall?
In these examples, you will have two very different cases of depth, on the one hand, a lot of depth, and on the other hand, little depth, but, there will be in both cases.
If you put elements far away, you have to place them in the plane, and that the distance is noticed, if you put them closer, you will have to see that they do not steal the limelight from what you have in the foreground. These are some of the difficulties you may encounter.
If you decide on an abstract background, you can use it to generate dynamism, climate, blur, fill, or whatever objective you have.
Start drawing shapes, which give different sensations, here, some examples.
If you draw several horizontal stripes at a short distance, you will give the sensation of speed (while creating a gray grid). Using this technique, it will look like whatever you have drawn in the foreground is moving fast.
If you draw concentric spiral shapes, you can give the sensation that something is moving the character mentally or sentimentally. By blurring the lines of the background elements, you can give the idea that they are out of focus, thus increasing the idea of depth.
You can create a background that only serves as a filler and adds to the composition of the vignette. Each of these sensations will depend on the context of the story you are telling.
If you want to dispense with the background, you can use it to highlight what is happening with the characters. This way, the eye will not be distracted by what is behind.
This background should be used after having used a figurative one, so that the reader already knows where the events take place.
Try to work on the absence of background, so that it doesn’t look like you didn’t want to draw it. You must make the reader assimilate this absence in a natural way, that is why it is not convenient to abuse this resource, but to use it in specific moments.
In a close-up of the character, the background may not contribute anything, if you want to generate a great contrast between the foreground and the background, the background may be flat.
Try it and see what reasons you find.
The background has a great contribution to the composition of any image, both in the comic page and in each vignette. Figure and background are the main compositional elements of any image.
In the figurative and abstract, you will have elements that must be part of the composition of the cartoon. For this, you will have to decide how to place each element and the tonal value it will have.
A figure, with dark values on the background, or vice versa, has a strong clarity, if you isolate the main element to be perceived at first sight, you will generate a “breathing area” or “visual air”.
You would be showing what the main thing is, and where to start reading the vignette, this is a more subtle way of pointing out directions.
You can place the objects in the background so that they point towards the main element.
At the same time, it avoids generating a confusing image, where the figure is not differentiated from the background, and the reader cannot differentiate those elements.
If you use a flat background (black or white), try not to repeat it, because it will make your cartoon lose strength. This should be used when the main elements occupy a lot of space in the cartoon.
Finally, never leave the background aside. It is not something that is behind, something accidental, it is an important compositional and narrative element. Give it the place it needs, and avoid using it when it is not necessary.
It helps to place the characters, to reinforce expressions, and to generate a clear composition. So, every time you draw a setting for your characters, meditate, think, and decide what will occupy that space.
Conclusion
As you may have read during the article, the background is not an isolated, unimportant, or irrelevant part of our comic, on the contrary, it is of vital importance.
Backgrounds in comics place us in the story, and cannot go unnoticed.
Take each and every one of these paragraphs, to achieve spectacular backgrounds, because, now you learned about its great importance!
