Behind the Scenes- 3D Skate Park Planning (WIP) (Patreon)

Hey Everyone!

I took a bit of a break from my hiatus to do a little background practice. This time, I wanted to mock up the New Lennium City skate park, where Murphy tries and fails to impress with his tricks. While it's not completely finished yet, I wanted to show more of how I sometimes use 3D mockups to make a 2D background. Because I suck at planning things in perspective without a starting point of reference, so this is an easy way to get things rolling if you've got access to the programs.

So basically, I start with a very basic 3D setup in Maya. I could go fancier, but I typically just use the pre-made primitive shapes like spheres, cubes, rings, etc. It gives a good approximation of where things should go. Then, I sketch over and refine things, adding objects where needed. After that, I move on to flat colors, then add gradient shading and various textures overlaid on top of the flats to help the characters stand out. It's really nothing fancy, but it gets the job done.

I've only done more "complex" angles like this a few times, but I'd like to do more.

This background *may* be used in an upcoming animation! I've been thinking of various ideas and this came from one of them, so it may be showing up again real soon when I'm able to jump back in. Just wanted to give an update for those being so patient. Thanks!

EDIT: Heck, I even added another image to the end of this of some further changes I've made since posting. It just goes to show that these backgrounds are never "finished" until I'm satisfied. I'll probably keep working on it, too.