-Intro-

Good day, everyone! I’m back again with a new post. This time it's about abandoned buildings!

 

Drawing backgrounds is something that a lot of artists find daunting. Not only does it look complicated, but thinking of details and perspective looks challenging for some. However, drawing backgrounds is so versatile and useful. It can add so much information and tell a story even without needing to have any characters or actions. In this tutorial, I will give a basic rundown on how to design a room and how to make that room look and feel abandoned.

1. Basics - Designing a Room

Let's start off by deciding what our background would look like. There are an infinite number of designs that you can choose and create, but to do this, I like to classify them into two options to make the choice easier: indoors or outdoors.

 

In my opinion, there are two main differences between an indoor and an outdoor location. That is freedom and personal information.

 

With an outdoor location, the sky is the limit. You can make a city, or you can make a mountain range. There is no limit to what you want to draw and how much you want to draw. However, with an indoor location, the limit is the walls of the room. When you add things, you have to make sure they fit the limitations you've put upon yourself.

 

This limitation doesn't make it a bad thing. In fact, it could add a lot of personal information that tends to be missing from an outdoor location. For example, compare a bedroom to a riverbed.

With the bedroom, you can add so many personal details into the scene. For example, you can add dirty clothes to show people that the person owing the room is a messy person. Or maybe there are a lot of cute and bright items in the room that show the person's taste and hints of their personality. Even a bare room can be used to tell a story.

Of course, you can incorporate those details into an outdoor scene, but I believe that there is already so much detail and information in an outdoor setting that adding those may look out of place or get lost amongst the other items.

 

For the purpose of this tutorial, I'll be using an indoor location as my chosen background.

i. Basics - Line Quality

Before we start designing our room, let's start by choosing a pen to use. The kind of pen you use can change the feel of the end result.

 

For example, let's compare between a hard airbrush and this custom brush: ガサ伽サ線画ペン 

The lines done using the hard airbrush look cleaner than the custom pen's line. Because of this, the drawing on the top looks more imperfect and messier than the one below it. For a better comparison, let's draw a prop and line them up using those two pens.

 

For the props below, I used these assets:

Using the ガサ伽サ線画ペン , the result looks rougher. Because the pen is textured, it looks messier and has a dirtier look to it.

The end results look cleaner now with the Hard Airbrush. The lines are thin, which lends a softer and neater look to the overall image.

You can use any brush you want. It's all up to preference. For example, you may find the rougher brush quicker to use, or you may simply like the cleaner result, or maybe you find some rougher brushes to be more time-consuming, as it will take more time to fill in the base color as the lines will be textured.

ii. Basics - How to Design a Room

Next, let's create our room.

 

To start off, we should make a ruler layer. There are two ways to do this.

 

1. Go to [Layer] -> [Ruler/Frame] -> [Create Perspective Ruler...]

Once you click that, you should receive a pop-up screen. Now you can choose whichever one you want, but for the interior of a room, I usually choose [3 points perspective].

And now you have a ruler layer you can adjust to fit your needs!

Or, you can do this:

 

2. Go to your tools, and choose the one with the triangle icon. Then choose [Perspective ruler]

Then, start making your own lines. 

Now that you have your ruler, what I like to do is go to the Tool property tab and click on the grid. This will create guidelines.

Start by placing the lines for the corners of the room.

Then, start mapping out the biggest shapes first. When mapping out your items, don't focus too much on the details, but rather focus on the size and placement of the items.

Then, add the second largest shapes. These are items that aren't the biggest, but are essential to establish the scene.

Finally, place the smallest items to add more character to the room.

Now that you've mapped it out, turn the ruler off and start sketching on top of the blocks you've created.

Feel free to make it as detailed as you want. Here, I decided to go with a simple, clean, and modern living room. If you're confused about how to add details to your room, think of what you would do if you were living there. If your room looks too bland, adding a few plants may help brighten it up!

2. Adding Organic Details to Still Objects

The key to making backgrounds look interesting is by adding organic details to still objects.

 

A lot of the objects you see daily are rigid. You could even say they're boring. For example, let's draw a wooden plank.

It looks very clean and generic. There is no story behind it.

 

To make it look more interesting, we need to add some organic elements to it. For example, we can take that plank of wood and make the shape asymmetrical. Then we can add specific details to show some distress, such as cracks and dents.

By adding those little details, you break the rigidity of the straight lines. It helps make the item look more natural and adds a bit of character to it.

 

Another thing you can do is to add dirt, stains, and other irregularities to the wood. Since we're discussing abandoned places in this tutorial, why don't we make this plank of wood look like it's been abandoned for a long time?

 

To do this, let's add some dirt and discoloration. And at the edges and holes of the wood, let's add some green tinge to show that mold has started to grow.

A good item can tell you about the environment it belongs to, even if it's a boring item like this plank of wood. When you compare the first picture to the final one, there is more information in the imperfect plank at the end than there is in the first one. Now, let's apply this to our background!

3. Signs of Abandonment

Abandoned places tend to not be taken care of all too well. Some are even forgotten by people. So, how can we convey the passing of time in our drawings?

 

I'm going to discuss 7 different ways you can use to show that a place is abandoned!

a. Dust

Let's start with the simplest one: dust.

 

Dust is everywhere, even in the place you're living in. Things like fabric fibers, books, rugs, and dirt can contribute to the buildup of dust in a room. The thing about dust is that it is light, so often it will flow with the wind before landing on your items. 

 

So let's say you have an opened box on a table. Where would the dust land? Well, if the box is opened, then the location underneath the box flaps would be covered with less dust as it is protected by it.

 

What I like to do is fill a new layer with a light gray color, keeping in mind which locations would have less dust. Then, using this brush:

I start to erase it slowly and build it up from there.

b. Mold

Now, let's talk about mold.

 

Mold starts to grow because of tiny spores that float through the air, and they will start to grow when they land on spaces that contain moisture. A room can contain hidden moisture from things like leaking roofs or pipes, or even from the window.

 

For this example, let's say the mold is growing in the corner of the room. What I like to do is use the default brush [Running color spray]. First, choose a color that is slightly darker than the wall—but still in a similar hue range—then a green color, and layer them up. Then, go to [Layer Property] and choose the circle icon to create an outline. Here, I like to use a light gray color.

 

Then, start cleaning it up using a soft eraser and the [Running color spray] airbrush.

c. Discoloration

Discoloration works in a similar way as mold, but unlike mold, discoloration doesn't need moisture. Rather, they're the accumulation of small dirt particles in the air and can appear as lines going down on your wall. These particles will accumulate and make some parts appear darker.

 

I like to use this brush:

And proceed to layer it. I used a soft eraser to gently build the shape and added some tiny details to show the different stains there are on the wall.

d. Chipping Paint

There are many reasons why paint would start to chip away. It could be temperature changes, or an accident, or perhaps the paint was done over dirty walls, or ones with excess moisture that causes it to flake off.

 

To draw paint chipping away, I like to use this brush:

I begin by painting part of the wall a light gray color, then drawing the flaked-off parts onto the ground. Then, I simply cleaned it up by outlining it and airbrushing it with a dark color, and finally I drew in the cracks on the wall with a thin pen.

e. Peeling Wallpaper

Wallpaper is sort of similar to chipping paint. They will slowly start to form lines and slowly peel off of the wall. This can be caused by humidity or simply the adhesive drying out.

 

I will be using this pattern, which I edited slightly, to better show the wallpaper:

Using the same brush as in the previous section, I start by drawing in a gray part on the layer on top of the pattern layer. I also drew in a small part of the wallpaper peeling away from the wall. Wallpaper tend to be strips that are placed side by side. At times, the wallpaper will start to peel off from that seam. Unlike with the chipped paint, I added a yellow tinge to the wall to show where the adhesive was. And then I finish up by airbrushing a dark yellow color on the cracks of the wallpaper.

f. Rust

Rust is formed when iron reacts with water and oxygen in a process known as oxydation. This can happen in various ways, like being in contact with outside air, different chemicals, or even temperature changes. When this happens, the coating may flake off and chip away.

 

First off, I like to use this brush:

Then I use this gradient set:

After I layer the intensity up, I use these textures with an [Overlay] layer on top of the rust layer.

g. Plants

Finally, we have plants. Plants are somewhat different than the cases previously discussed, as they tend to take a longer period of time to form. What happens is seeds get dispersed through the air and land in the cracks or crevices. It may seem odd for plants to grow indoors, but as long as there is moisture in the room, they can grow. For example, they may get water from leaking pipes.

 

However, in a closed-off location like a house, it blocks itself from the outside world and doesn't leave much opportunity for soil and seed to come in. If events such as leaking roofs or broken windows occur, then it could compromise the building and allow plants to grow.

 

That's why I like to use this brush to show the walls being extremely discolored:

Don't only paint the walls, but make sure you color in large patches of green on the floors as well.

 

Next, I used these two custom brushes to build up the wild grass:

Keep on adding more layers, with different shades of brightness and hue, until you get the desired look. I like to finish off with a few white flowers at the end to show a contrast between the unkempt surroundings and the growing life. I find that it adds a sort of charm to the final image.

4. Storytelling

Now that we've gone through all that, let's go back to our scene. Before we start turning our room into an abandoned one, it's best to think of the scenario you want to tell.

 

For starters, think of how the building is abandoned. Did the person move? Or did they have to leave in a hurry?

 

Let's take our shelf from the first part of this tutorial.

There are many items on the shelf. Books, pictures, a plant. Now, let's take it all away and leave it empty.

Now, the empty shelf may look boring, but an empty shelf would mean that the owner has packed up their belongings and left. If we kept the shelf with items, it would seem like the owner had to leave and was never able to come back. 

Let's apply this to our room from earlier. Let's say the owner of the room decided to move away. What items would they take? Of course, the TV will be taken with them. But perhaps they will also take their plants and curtains to be used in their new place. The miscellaneous items as well, like the books, the box, and the clock. Perhaps the new location is already furnished, and so they're leaving behind the table, cabinet, and sofa.

Now take into account how long the place has been abandoned. If it has only been a few days, then the room will most likely still look tidy, just empty.

But let's say it's been months. Perhaps the windows are now broken. It could be from a wild animal, or maybe from a burglar breaking in to look for items to steal. In this case, the glass would be shattered, and maybe the sofa was moved slightly from the incident.

Then, maybe the owner was informed of the incident and decided to cover up the broken window with planks of wood to prevent any more break-ins.

So now we have our scenario. Someone moved away, and then their house was damaged.

 

To make it easier for us later, let's decide on the lighting now. In a normal room, the light source will typically come from the top from things such as lamps.

But with an abandoned building, they tend to not have those light sources and rely on the outside influences instead. In this case, I decided to make it noon, and let the light source be the bright sun from outside.

Finally, we get to start on coloring our environment!

 

Start by putting in the base colors. I will be using predominantly light colors so that the dirt and discoloration will be shown better.

Next, paint in all the dirt and mold you want. In this scenario, since the window is broken, I decide to paint most of the dirt near that area. I'm adding a lot of discoloration to the walls to indicate the moisture and humidity from the open window.

 

For this, I like to use the default brushes: [Running color edge watercolor], [Wet bleed blender], and [Wet wash].

Using the same brush as in the 'Dust' section of this tutorial, I start painting in a somewhat heavy layer of dust. I try to keep it in locations away from the window, as the wind coming in from the window would most likely blow away the dust from that area.

Then, I turned off all the layers with the colors and went back to the lighting layer from earlier. Because we've already established the lighting, all we need to do is clean it all up! Keep the layer light gray, but feel free to add in a tinge of color. Here, I added a bit of purple into my gray.

 

I decided to go with a dark gray for the couch as I find the light gray to not be strong enough.

Next, simply change the layer mode to [Linear Burn]. If you did add a tinge of color to your grayscale layer, you can adjust the shadows to be as warm or cold as you like.

Add in the light source and make some final adjustments to the brightness of the room. I decided that it would be nice if the dark and gloomy room was contrasted by the bright light from outside.

I like to use this brush to add a bit of floating dust to my final image. This adds a sense of motion and life to the environment.

And you're done with your picture!

But what if it's not enough? What if the room was abandoned for decades? What if you want to push it to the extremes?

 

Let's turn off our lighting and shadow layers and go back to the base color layers. Using the brushes and techniques from the previous sections, I decided to make the room truly abandoned.

 

First off, the AC might have produced moisture. And since the window is open, there might be moisture from weather conditions such as rain. So I decided that the worst damage would be in those locations. I started by adding heavy discoloration to the wall underneath the AC, and then added rust to the window frames, and finally a heavy layer of mold on the wall and areas near the window.

 

Then, since the wooden plank is dealing with the most outside factors, I decided to add more mold and discoloration to it to show the damage.

 

I decided that the walls looked too clean, so I added more green and discoloration. Perhaps there's a leaking pipe?

 

And since the window is open, why not add some plants growing around the glass shards? I decided to keep the plants in the area of the window, as that's where most of the moisture, water, and sunlight would be.

 

Finally, I added more layers of dust to the areas farthest from the window.

 

And with the lighting and shadow layers turned off, the end result looks like this!

Now let's turn on all the lighting and shadow layers again and adjust them slightly to fit the new addition of plants.

And now, using the same room, you've made 2 different scenarios!

Just by adding more, you can see just how much time has passed in that location. Of course, you can add more details, such as making the wall paint chip away, or maybe the furniture has started to decay. But even without changing any of the lineart, we were able to make a huge change!

-Conclusion-

Thank you for being patient with this tutorial! There were a lot of things to be discussed, and I'm glad you made it till the end. I hope I was able to explain things well, and I hope you can create something using my tutorial!