Scenic Back Drop

Hello There! I have been asked to try and take some photos with a scenic background for some photographs required for some features for WSS magazine. The usual background I use is at the wargames club I usually go to, all locked down so I decided to make my own.

I purchased a thick board from an art shop and some sky blue paint and set to work.

The exact colour of 'sky blue' is open to discussion as every time I managed to mix a colour I thought was right it either dried too grey or too dark.

Eventually I got the shade I was happy with and painted each side of the board, one at a time, with two coats of paint to get an even covering.

I looked through the internet to see what I was aiming for then roughly sketched the area on the board I wanted to cover. Next, with some acrylic paints and some sponge I started to dab the white around the edge of the clouds, trying to blur the edges, then began to fill the area with a mixture of white and different greys to show a number of shades in the clouds. The illustrations I was working to had greys in the middle with lighter shades and even white around the edges,

This is one of those jobs you just cannot rush. If you drag the sponge then you get lines in the clouds that you just don't want. If you make any mistakes then just dab go over them again.

Also be sure to mix the grey shades that you are using as otherwise you get random dabs of pure white or black over you clounds. If your sponge is producing the same line or shape revolve the sponge so this does not stand out. Remember you can always dab over these shapes anyway.

In the picture above you will see I have the paint on a plate on my lap then some folded kitchen towel within easy reach. Dab the sponge in the paint and push any excess out on the plate. Then dab further excess onto the kitchen towel. This will stop you using too much paint which will make the cloud look too dense  and unrealistic.

After one side was finished and dry I did the same to  the other side.

Here is the end result, which I am quite pleased with. The lower picture has more subtle grey shades than the more stormy picture.