In my reading of MRR magazines, I am often, if not almost always disappointed with the back drop on the numerous featured layouts. I, personally, strive to have AMAZING scenery and make it look JUST THE WAY IT USED TO, and, one of those things that I don’t like in the many featured layouts is how unrealistic the backdrop is, like how there is either no, or printed backdrop (BLAH!). Also, when buildings but up to the backdrop it does not look realistic, as there is a short building, that should be three dimensionally continued into the backdrop. I was very disappointed with Bay Junction by the MRR staff, like the appliance co, and corn syrup plant, which ran into the backdrop, and end suddenly, also, there was no backdrop at all! I was very surprised that the pros did it this way.
Anybody have any pics of there really good back drop?
Also, that use pictures to continue roads was one of the most useful articles ever, and it looks do real!
Sorry for pointing finger, but I have been ‘blownaway’ at how unrealistic some of the most professional people are.
Wow, that excellent, One of the best I’ve seen! If I may be nitpicky, you should try to use Ground Goup or sound grassy stuff to blend the buildings into the ground, but very verygood!
I must have missed the thread where you, personally, posted the photos of your perfect scenes. I am sure that we could all learn from your “AMAZING” scenery.
When one is a young teen, an over-inflated sense of self comes easily. If one is to succeed as one matures, a realistic dose of humility becomes important. Good luck.
I did this small corner backdrop after seeing an article in MR.
Nothing fancy at all. I went outside and took a picture looking down the road in front of my house, printed it on my inkjet printer, trimmed it to shape and glued it on a piece of foam board. (I don’t have the luxury of being able to paint or glue on the walls in the “family room.”) I then built the road up to the backdrop, and added ground cover and trees to hide the edges and conceal the line where the layout ends and the backdrop begins.
Just a word of advice. You do realize that with the above statement you have pretty much opened yourself up to be fair game for criticism, constructive or otherwise. Be careful the standard you set for others, because they will use that same standard for you. You ask a lot of questions, seeking input and information, which puts you in the position expressed by Blanche DuBois in “A Streetcar Named Desire”, “I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.” As my mother always told me, “You catch more flies with honey than vinegar.”
Obviously you haven’t tried it yourself. If you had you would have noticed how very hard that is to do, both from the standpoint of matching the actual details of the building and the perspective based on the viewpoint of the observer. If a building is projected onto the backdrop so that it looks good when viewed straight on, if the viewer steps a couple feet to the side and looks at the building again, it will not look good at all because perspective will not match the perspective as viewed by the observer
Granted, creating a believable backdrop is a formidable task, which not all of us master. You have to remember that photos show a layout from a different perspective than when you view it in person. This is even more true for a backdrop.
A word to criticism - it easier to criticize a work done than to do it yourself. Show us your backdrop, before you turn someone else´s down.
The thing to remember is when creating a backdrop you MUST make the person viewing it stand on the mark ( a special place ) when viewing or it throw everything off. Step to one side or the other and nothing lines up. If the viewers eye is not in the exact point in space the scene does not work. It all comes down to your point of view.
so right you are; the just good enough principle might be the best here to; since we are not able to look from the right point of view most of the time. But the focus is on the actors and action.
For some really good demonstrations of great backdrop work (and discussion of how he got there), check out what poster Gary does over at forum “The Gauge”.
You might have to join the forum to see the pictures.
Not sure how “amazing” this is, but it’s the backdrop behind Granite yard on my previous layout:
“Sorry for pointing finger, but I have been ‘blownaway’ at how unrealistic some of the most professional people are.”
Wow, really? Where’s the link to your layout so we can see your better way of doing things? Your comments suggest that you don’t have much experience actually doing backdrops of your own. Continuing a 3-D building into the backdrop so it looks convincing from more than one angle is nearly impossible, especially on a narrow shelf. Making no attempt at a transition can look better in the finished product since the odd wall angles won’t be present from the non-optimal viewing position. Blending 3-D and 2-D buildings invariably involves compromise, and once you work on it yourself you’ll find out it ain’t easy to get that “professional” result.
That’s an excellent point. Another thing the OP should understand is that many of the really good photos he is seeing were posed specifically to get the background-foreground alignment just right. Many have been cropped or Photoshopped to enhance their appearance Others are just plain staged, with temporary backgrounds created soley for photographic purposes. There’s nothing wrong with any of that, but it’s not how the layout looks in the “flesh,” so to speak.
Rob, Srn, and Johnny_reb…excellent responses and you guys are far more diplomatic than I would have been. I have always been impressed with the quality of work shown on this website, we have some truly professional modelers here and I learn something new daily. It would be a cold day, someplace, before I’d ever criticize someone’s work without showing a comparative photograph of my own expertise.
