Decals for backdrops?

[sirenwerks]

With some of us being artistically challenged, I was wondering if anyone sells or has created for home use decals for backdrops? Like trees, rock outcroppings, or buildings that could be placed on top of general scenery painting, where the user needs/wants them rather than having to work within the bounds of a pre-printed backdrop? Or is this just a stupid idea altogether? Seems like this holds potential to me.

[ljudice]

Look into some of the 3D terrain modelling software out there - old versions can of Bryce, Vue, etc... can be bought at computer flea markets for a bargain price.  You can probably take output files to Kinkos or similar outfits to print on a large scale printer.

The programs produce amazing results - I have a small sample of some renders at http://www.louisjudice.com and then click on renderings on the second page.

[bbussey]

You also could take photographs and have them printed to scale:

[sirenwerks]

Louis, neat idea, but I fear the learning curve.

Brian, photo is definitely on my radar. In fact, I like the idea of making the background images a tad painterly in Photoshop (actually, I use GIMP until I can get PS to install right) rather than leaving them 'realistic'. A tad blurry and run through their filters to give some brush stroke, to keep the eye from focusing on the backdrop.

[ednadolski]

Last time I checked at Kinkos, they wanted $10 per square foot for a printout, which adds up pretty fast     I ended up printing on regular paper from my computer, then cutting & pasting the sheets onto a blue-painted masonite.  I wasn't too happy with the results, since the sheets tend to peel over time, and the blue is far too uniform -- no clouds, and no graduated blend into white at the horizon line.

Photos have their own sets of issues.  For one thing, it can be tricky to get the color balance, contrast, and light direction to match your foreground & lighting.  I'd also be concerned about the inks fading over time (and don't get it wet!).

The idea of using Photoshop to 'blur' the image does help to break up the contrast between a real photo and a model foreground.  I've tried the "Drybrush" tool with a few varying parameters until I got a look that I liked.

Ed

[wm3798]

Paint the sky, clouds and white fade to the horizon on the wall, then use the 2-D printed images as cut outs and layers along the horizon.  That way the print out doesn't have to exceed standard page size, and you can do nifty tricks like mounting some of the images to black foam core so they "pop" out of the flat backdrop a little. 

Think theater set...

Lee

[ljudice]

Yikes - we used to get most of that printing done in house, so I wasn't aware of how expensive it it!!!

[ljudice]

I'll make a generic monster backdrop file and upload it to my site - if anyone wants to download it and play with it feel free to - will try to get it done later this afternoon,

Lou

[DKS]

I'd also be concerned about the inks fading over time (and don't get it wet!).

Inkjet inks are remarkably stable, the photo-grade variety even more so. And a good coat of clear fixative will make them waterproof (otherwise, we'd never be able to make our own waterslide decals with an inkjet).

[Dave Schneider]

Bryan,

I am not sure why you would want to go the decal route. The thought of trying to apply a large decal seems to add needlessly to the complexity of what you are trying to accomplish. I like the idea of mounting prints on styrene or foam core. There was a really nice example of this on the Atlas board:
http://forum.atlasrr.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=55489&SearchTerms=port

Take a look on page 1 at the the grain elevator backdrop made by leighant.

Best wishes, Dave

[AlkemScaleModels]

With some of us being artistically challenged, I was wondering if anyone sells or has created for home use decals for backdrops? Like trees, rock outcroppings, or buildings that could be placed on top of general scenery painting, where the user needs/wants them rather than having to work within the bounds of a pre-printed backdrop? Or is this just a stupid idea altogether? Seems like this holds potential to me.

I have tried several techniques on my backdrop. I settled on hand painted skies and terrain with cut outs for certain hard to paint (for me anyway) images. See my blog and click on backdrops for all the blog posts related to my backdrop efforts.

http://usmrr.blogspot.com/search/label/Backdrops

[bicknell]

A recent post of mine about photo backdrops: http://www.realityreduced.com/Reality_Reduced/Blog/Entries/2009/8/31_Photorealistic_Backdrops.html

[DKS]

I am not sure why you would want to go the decal route. The thought of trying to apply a large decal seems to add needlessly to the complexity of what you are trying to accomplish. I like the idea of mounting prints on styrene or foam core.

Mounting prints has its own challenges. If not cut carefully, the edges can be visible, and it's tough to cut around the edges of complex things like trees. I've tried the photos-mounted-on-foamcore-trick, and it's even harder to pull off than just working with flat prints--it doesn't always work as intended, and sometimes it just looks like photos mounted on foamcore. These issues are all exacerbated when backgrounds are quite close to the layout edge--in some cases, it can be so close that sky paint applied with a roller has a visible texture, and the thickness of layered paper prints can be seen; naturally, as the background is further away, the problems diminish. I actually like the idea of using decals, and may give it a whirl.

[Dave Schneider]

Very good points David. I hadn't given the complex shape issue enough thought.  It would be interesting to see if someone could create things like tree decals that are "opaque enough" on clear film to apply to a painted background.

Best wishes, Dave

[DKS]

Very good points David. I hadn't given the complex shape issue enough thought.  It would be interesting to see if someone could create things like tree decals that are "opaque enough" on clear film to apply to a painted background.

Best wishes, Dave

My thought is that one might be able to cut a mask roughly in the shape of the decal image, and airbrush or spray the area on the backdrop white; then apply the decal. Any mismatch of the edges would essentially become "feathering" which should effectively blend things together.

Maybe. Works that way in my head, anyways.