Backlighting is one of the elements that can effectively create dramatic or emotional atmospheres, or various emotions between characters and backgrounds in an illustration.
When drawing, the feel of backlighting varies depending on the time, lighting, and environment.
Let's explore the definition of backlighting, key points when drawing and creating backlit scenes, the process of backlighting, and various examples of backlighting.
*What is Backlighting?*
It is light that illuminates a subject from behind, making the subject appear dark overall, with only the outline of the subject, the part receiving the light, expressed brightly.
+ The light shining behind the subject creates a light expression on the subject's outline, which is called rim light or edge light.
+ This edge light creates a sense of separation between the background and the character, adding depth.
*Locations and Times Where Backlighting Most Often Appears*
Outdoors?
Generally, outdoors, backlighting appears when you stand with your back to the sun at sunrise or sunset.
This is because the sun's position is closer to the horizon, causing it to illuminate the subject from behind.
Additionally, artificial lights such as streetlights or neon signs at night can also create backlighting.
Indoors or in various spaces
In certain spaces, backlighting appears when light from a window or a light source is behind the subject horizontally.
Intentionally illuminating the subject from behind can also create backlighting.
*Examples of Drawings Using Backlighting*
The following illustrations are examples of using backlighting.
Illustration 1 - Backlighting created by external light through a window in a dark room
Illustration 2 - Backlighting created by streetlights and city building lights in the middle of the night
Illustration 3 - Backlighting created by sunset light
*Backlighting Techniques*
1. Draw the illustration with backlighting.
When drawing characters, check the texture of their clothes or props, and their unique colors.
Since the background is not yet set, apply the character's unique colors.
2. Set the background.
I've set out to draw a night city background, and night cities are primarily influenced by artificial lighting such as streetlights and building lights.
I also pre-set the main colors of light; at night, yellow or white light is commonly seen, so I'll use yellow and white light as the main colors.
Once the background is set, draw it behind the character, and adjust the character's colors to match the background, making the subject's coloring darker.
At this point, you can use a multiply layer to unify the tone with a dark color.
The key is to make the interior of the subject appear dark, focusing on its silhouette.
3. Draw rim light on the character's outline.
Roughly express the parts of the character's outline where light hits.
It's important to emphasize only the surfaces where the light touches, rather than coloring the light evenly.
4. Gently depict the light expression according to the subject's curvature.
Rather than the light area entering uniformly due to the character's curvature, some areas only illuminate the outline, while others receive a lot of light.
Even where a lot of light enters, it should be gently depicted due to the character's curvature, or areas where the light color fades should be shown.
At this time, it is important to emphasize the character's form and three-dimensionality when drawing.
When depicting light and shadow, let's express color temperature contrast by giving the illuminated highlights a warm feel,
and emphasizing a cool feel in the shadowed dark areas.
5. Complement the form with reflected light.
Use reflected light to further depict the character's form, such as clothing wrinkles and hair.
It is better to express reflected light subtly and softly rather than strongly.
+We recommend using an airbrush or soft blurring tools.
The color of the reflected light is expressed as a subtle yellow touching the subject, with the environmental or lighting color, yellow, reflected off the floor.
6. Create camera effects to match the environment.
First, use layer effects such as Overlay and Glow layers to make the illuminated parts of the character brighter and softer.
If the background is too clearly depicted, the character may not stand out and the viewer's gaze might be drawn to the background. Therefore, use a Gaussian blur effect to slightly blur the background, making the character's outline more prominent.
Expressing light-receiving particles floating in the air can increase the density of the illustration.
It is good to depict them as if scattered using a spray brush.
Finally, creating an effect as if light is forming an image in front of the character, using lens flare or bokeh brushes, similar to a photograph, can add depth to the illustration and help create a clear backlit illustration.
*Summary of Backlighting Key Points*
Before drawing backlighting, I've summarized 6 key points to consider when creating backlit scenes.
Example Images for Key Points
1. Emphasize the outline
Clearly define the character's outline and add rim light to separate the character from the background.
2. Darken the interior for a silhouette effect
It is best to clearly and darkly express the unlit interior of the character to emphasize the overall silhouette.
3. Utilize reflected light
Since the interior is colored dark as a silhouette, expressing the character's form or textures, such as clothing wrinkles, can be somewhat difficult. In such cases, use reflected light to complement and depict the character's form and textures.
4. Utilize various effects such as light particles and lens flare.
By depicting effects such as lens flare, as if taken with a camera, or light particles floating in the air, the density of the illustration is increased, adding dramatic effect and depth to the artwork.
5. Expression of the air layer
Depending on the surrounding environment, it's good to express the air layer in various settings, such as diffused light or fog, to add a soft and dreamy effect.
6. Color temperature contrast
While it varies depending on the lighting effect and the intent of the illustration, it is generally good to create a color temperature contrast with opposing feelings:
use warm colors for the illuminated parts and cool colors for the shadowed parts to show color contrast.
+ Commonly used Lens Flare & Particle Effect Brushes in Clip Studio
The feel of using brushes may vary depending on preference, but I've compiled some frequently used effect brushes.
*Lighting Examples Using Backlight*
Let's look at various examples of lighting using backlighting.
*Since not all backlighting expressions can be covered, I've compiled only a few common and highly utilized cases.
- When the lighting is natural
1. Sunlight streaming through trees in a forest
When light filtering through a forest or trees is captured by a camera, it appears as bright light due to high illuminance.
When this light touches a character, it generally appears as yellow-green or even brighter white light on the character, creating strong color contrast with the character.
2. When the sunset glows
When the sunset glows, light in shades of red, orange, and yellow, characteristic of the sunset, appears on the character.
At this time, the expression of the sunset varies with the intensity of the light: if the light is strong, color and brightness contrast are strongly expressed,
whereas if it's a soft and gentle sunset glow, it's better to give a subtle light expression and natural color contrast.
3. Before dawn
Before the sun rises, there is no direct light source, so light from the environment is primarily depicted.
It is important to make the subject's color darker than the background color to create a difference between them, and since environmental light illuminates the subject more weakly than direct light, it should be expressed more subtly on the subject than direct light. The contrast between highlights and shadows should also not be too high.
Additionally, it is important to pay attention to depicting mist or air during dawn.
- When the lighting is artificial
1. Strong stage lighting
When strong spotlighting on a stage is used for backlighting, a strong contrast appears between the illuminated and shadowed parts of the subject.
Depending on the stage environment, it's good to softly express diffused light around the character from the strong lighting, along with light particle expressions and lens flare effects.
2. Light coming through a window in a dark room
The light coming through a window in a dark room varies slightly depending on the environment beyond the window and what kind of light is entering. In the illustration, the light is depicted as coming from behind trees outside the window.
Match the character's color to the indoor environment, deciding how dark it should be, and then express the light from beyond the window warmly.
At this time, it is good to consider the window's size, the presence or absence of bars, and its shape, as these factors change the intensity and area of the light.
3. When standing with your back to a streetlight on a night street
In the case of streetlights on a night street, this refers to the depiction when standing with your back to a streetlight from a distance, not directly beneath it.
First, it is important to understand the color of the streetlight and to express the light while considering the distance between the streetlight's light source and the character, as well as the light's intensity.
Since night streets are dark, it is important to clearly define outlines or to express diffused light, reflected light from streetlights, and light particles floating in the air in various ways to make the night street vibrant.
*In Conclusion*
Backlighting is one of many lighting techniques, and various other effects are possible beyond the tips written above.
This article summarizes basic aspects and the author's acquired know-how, so it may contain some subjective opinions.
Despite its shortcomings, I hope you find it useful.
Please feel free to use it as a reference, adapting it to your own art style, techniques, and intentions.
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