Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
It’s your first day as a layout / background artist on a new show. What do you do?
Don't worry! Here's what I do.
In this video I walk through how I actually approach backgrounds at the start of a project—from reviewing style guides and reference material, to understanding how layout and paint.
We’ll talk about:
How to read and interpret project material
Why every show has different rules (and why you should respect them)
Line vs shape-based backgrounds
Planning backgrounds so they work for animation and FX
Blocking, tonal passes, paint, and exporting correctly
Common workflow mistakes that get backgrounds sent back
“Background hygiene” - please for the love of the FX department, separate the water from the grass!!
This series is aimed at people aiming for a bg artist trying to improve their workflow, junior artists aiming for their first job, career-switchers, and anyone who’s ever been told to “practice” without being taught how production actually works.
Find me and my art on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/stylusrumble.bsky.social
Buy the crew a Kofi: ko-fi.com/stylusrumble
Check out our growing reference doc for more learn to draw resources!
https://t.co/DGlt4c5sGM
music:
freesound.org/people/mickleness
It’s your first day as a layout / background artist on a new show. What do you do?
Don't worry! Here's what I do.
In this video I walk through how I actually approach backgrounds at the start of a project—from reviewing style guides and reference material, to understanding how layout and paint.
We’ll talk about:
How to read and interpret project material
Why every show has different rules (and why you should respect them)
Line vs shape-based backgrounds
Planning backgrounds so they work for animation and FX
Blocking, tonal passes, paint, and exporting correctly
Common workflow mistakes that get backgrounds sent back
“Background hygiene” - please for the love of the FX department, separate the water from the grass!!
This series is aimed at people aiming for a bg artist trying to improve their workflow, junior artists aiming for their first job, career-switchers, and anyone who’s ever been told to “practice” without being taught how production actually works.
Find me and my art on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/stylusrumble.bsky.social
Buy the crew a Kofi: ko-fi.com/stylusrumble
Check out our growing reference doc for more learn to draw resources!
https://t.co/DGlt4c5sGM
music:
freesound.org/people/mickleness
