[Illustration + Insight] Non Non Biyori - Creating a Visual Library (Patreon)

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Since I got more freelance tasks including lots of background drawings I decided to update my visual library once more. One of my mentors always pointed out how important it is to have a database full of different references, may it be online, offline or even analogue.

Probably hard to believe, but I'm actually a sucker when it comes to color palettes. It wasn't that long ago that I used to struggle a lot with my own color mud. Then there was my final project at university when I had to create a rural 2D environment completely from scratch. My teacher lent me her artbook of Hayao Miyazaki's anime movie "Mononokehime" which serves as an inspiration source but also as a visual map for my compositions. How are the darker and lighter colors arranged for a scenery? How detailed are certain elements of the foreground and background. We analyzed the artbook together and sorted several photos I took  of my family's rural hometown. With this archive I was able to create a large asset collection full of different materials.

I always wanted to learn how to create a beautiful anime-like semi-real scenery, so I also analyzed the background images of different series. Especially the beautiful background art from Non Non Biyori caught my eye. Most of the story is taking place in a rural, very isolated area completely surrounded by nature so it was easy to get a variety of foliage types for my brushes and stamp tool. The varying degree of details can help to lay a focus on specific sections of the illustration or simply create a balanced view by making the color fields less homogeneous.

The most important thing for me during this process was to reflect the same idyllic and nostalgic vibe that was rendered throughout the show with the background art. As to that I 'm quite satisfied with the result. Not only because it's one of my few fanarts I consider a faithful representation of a favored show... but also because I learned a bunch of new tricks that help me to optimize my workflow concerning background art or environment design in general.