Landscapes & Backgrounds Track

The Landscapes & Backgrounds Track provides a comprehensive exploration of the role landscapes and backgrounds can play.

Techniques like atmospheric perspective, lighting, texture, scale, and space will be addressed through various prompts.

Lesson 1 • Lesson 2 • Lesson 3
Lesson 4 • Lesson 5 • Lesson 6

Whether you do concept art, are a fine art painter, or a comics artist, you’ll learn the fundamentals of how to articulate a convincing landscape.

Cat Huang, Fantasy Landscape, banner

Pacing

Do the track at your own pace! Taking the time to process the content is important, so we don’t advise putting pressure on yourself to finish the track quickly.

Remember to have fun and enjoy the process of learning.

Soft Pastel Drawing: Landscapes, banner

Show us what you make!

Mixed Media Acrylic Painting, Lauryn, banner

Art Supplies

We understand that many people have limited budgets for supplies, so our tracks are structured so that you can use any materials you want, within that track’s focus.

Paint Media

Visit these pages for supply lists: watercolor, gouache, acryl gouache, oils, water mixable oils, acrylics.

Clara Lieu
Watercolor in Utah: Widstoe Cemetery
Drawing Media

ballpoint pen/gel pens, dip pen, brush pen markers, Caran d’Ache crayons, graphite powder, colored pencil, soft pastel, oil pastel, pencil, charcoal, ink wash, scratchboard, wet charcoal, oil sticks

DIGITAL SOFTWARE OPTIONS

Digital tool recommendations, Procreate, Krita, Adobe Photoshop, Clip Studio Paint, Paint Tool SAI, Adobe Fresco, MediBang Paint, Gimp


Lesson 1

Landscapes & Backgrounds Track
Prompt

Working from direct observation, capture the “personality” of a room in your home.

Lesson 2

Landscapes & Backgrounds Track
Prompt

Repeat a person or object within a space to show depth and scale with atmospheric perspective.

Lesson 3

Landscapes & Backgrounds Track
Prompt

Explore dramatic light and shadows within an interior or exterior space.

Lesson 4

Landscapes & Backgrounds Track
Prompt

Use items from the grocery store to observe from life in order to create an alien landscape.

Lesson 5

Landscapes & Backgrounds Track
Prompt

Portray an underwater space, blending a minimum of 5 reference photos to create the scene.

Lesson 6

Landscapes & Backgrounds Track
Prompt

Create a self-portrait as an imagined or real space.

Jordan McCracken-Foster, banner

Finished?