painting blue sky onto a new backdrop

Following several recent topics about the use of photo backdrops on various forums, I was finally spurred on to do something with the backdrops on Sweethome.

The current backscenes on the layout were from Walthers Cornerstone City and freight yard sheets, although I cut and shunted the buildings around in an attempt to hide the repetitive nature of the scenes and building names.



The backdrops stand 15 inches from track level and some reach just above the highest buildings at the back of the layout.

Since the layout is portable and goes to, and from, exhibitions, with the boards packed face-to-face in pairs, the sky is especially prone to damage, especially as it is printed on paper and stuck to plywood . I currently have a small 'tester' pot of light blue paint to effect repairs, but the more repairs, the tattier the printed sky looks.





Rather than paint in situ, I decided to remove the existing backdrops from the layout boards and losing all of the illusion of distance that backdrops add, IMO.







Now to paint some blue sky for the first time ever - a potential disaster waiting to happen.

Jon

 

As mentioned before, the paper backscenes rise 15 inches above track level. One reason for this was so that operators could peer over the top if working from the back of the layout. Since raising the layout legs last year, this would only be possible if the operator was over 7 feet tall or standing on a box, so we dont do it any more.

My cunning plan is to raise the backscene boards to 20 inches above track level, giving the whole scene a more spacious feel, and enabling me to repaint over any scratches or other accidents and blending in the colours much more easily than before.

The new backdrops are currently 2ft by 8ft sheets of 1/8 plywood and I decided to paint the blue sky before cutting the wood to length.

I did the first board without taking any photos so any c**k-ups would go unrecorded, but it turned out better than expected. (disclaimer - the crappy carpet was in the house before I moved in 15 years ago - it has nothing to do with me)






I spent an evening cutting out buildings from more Walthers Cornerstone backdrops and drawing round the edges with felt tip pens to hide the white paper. These were then positioned loosely to give an idea of how the new scene would appear






I was less than happy with the pre-printed clouds on the original backdrop. I felt that the addition of clouds on the newly painted backscene would detract from the modelled scene (my way of saying that I'm not confident enough
to paint a half-decent cloud yet), so the sky will remain cloudless for now.

Now to describe how I did the second board.

Jon

 

The second backdrop board was painted in exactly the same way as the first, only I took some photos this time.

The board was sealed with white 'primer' a few weeks ago and the base colour I am using is a matt light blue paint in a shade called 'cloudless'

This was applied with a brush over the entire board.




I also bought a tube of acrylic paint from an artists' discount supply store in a shade called Pthalocyanine blue - that's 'mid blue' to those in the 'arty-farty' world.



I mixed a dollop of the darker blue with some of the lighter paint to get a shade to cover the top of the backboard - i read somewhere that sky appears lighter and more washed-out the further away it is from the viewer. Hence the darker colour at the top blending to a lighter shade at the bottom.



This was applied with a brush while the base colour was still wet



Jon

 

Lastly, the paint was blended together so that the darker colour fades into the lighter. I used horizontal brush strokes, rather than up-and-down as it gave a more natural finish. I also added a few brush strokes of lighter colour to give the appearance that there may just be some clouds starting to form.






When the paint is fully dried - it was dry to the touch at one end while I was still painting the other, but I want to leave it 48 hours just in case - I will measure and cut the back boards to fit the layout sections.

Before fitting, I will also need to drill holes for, and fit, wooden strengtheners so the wood doesnt warp. The screw heads will need to be covered in filler and blended into the sky.

I also have to consider where to place a dirty great thumb print on the sky where it will be the most difficut to disguise or cover up - sods law states it will happen.

Jon

 

Jon

You've done an excellent job of that - especially the blending - and I think it's going to be quite an improvement without those sharp clouds.
The colour looks great on my monitor.
Pthalo blue is a very strong pigment but I see yours is a lighter than normal shade, obviously mixed with white. That's a far better option than normal Pthalo.:thumbs_up:

Mike

 

I cut out the backscene for one of the two shorter 2ft 3in boards and finished sticking the buildings in place last night.

Here are some photos of the new scene temporarily resting in place behind the layout and some comparisond with the previous backscenes - note the difference in height and the darker sky colour. I'm quite pleased with the results so far, although I am still using fluorescent lighting and not the halogen layout lighting, as I still need to reinstall the lighting brackets.






Comparison between the old and new backscenes






Now I have to fix the backscene in place and fit some bracing so it doesn't warp.

Jon

 

Jon, Looking good! The difference between old and new is a significant improvement; and the old was pretty good to start with. I am right there with you on the painting part as I just started painting the first section of my sky this past week:



The two blues really add a sense of realism when you add some foreground scenery to the backdrop, such as your buildings. I can't believe how much better a bare layout looks just with the sky added, and you show how an existing layout is greatly enhanced as well. Jamie

 

I'm plodding on with the new backscenes and have just reached half way. This time I tried out the photographic buildings and am pleased with the results. I now have to go backover and redo the others, I suppose.









I still have a bit of work to do with the lighting to reduce the shadows on the backscene, but it is getting there.

Jon

 

I decided to revisit the backscene on board 1 and replaced the Walthers buildings with the photo cut-outs instead.










Now to print off some more buildings.

Jon

 

I have now completed the backscene upgrade for boards 6 and 7 (out of 8) and can see the end in sight.

First up board 6 - with Tardis









Jon

 

All the photos came from discs produced by Larc Products

http://www.geocities.com/larcproducts/

All of the photos I used on the backscenes came from the Larc Product discs. Two of the buildings in the set of three that you mentioned came as a set and the third was a happy accident.

The only editing I have done is to resize a few of the photos to make the buildings appear further away.

Jon

 

Board 7 upgrade. Looking at the photos, I am not too happy with the power plant and chimneys scene - they are too high up - and will replace it post-haste.










Now for the backscene on board 8.

Jon

 

Board 8 is the last baseboard to get a new backscene although it has both a backscene and a removable end-board to hide the fiddle yard.

First up, the new end piece, which just slides into place when the layout is up and running.









Jon

 

Finally, the last backscene to get revamped. Thankfully I am not exhibiting the layout until Saturday (Wigan, Lancashire) so I still have a few days to tinker with the electrics, clean the track, write new car cards, etc, etc.










Jon

 

The background,with the sky works well with the foreground buildings, neither overpowers the other.
I liked the Tardis lurking on the rooftop, that Doctor gets anywhere, any time !!
Ron