Guide to Emotional Backgrounds for Manga, Comics, and Webtoons
Backgrounds don't always have to represent a location.
In manga, comics, and webtoons, we can also use them to convey emotions, reinforce a reaction, or completely change the atmosphere of a panel.
The same illustration can convey surprise, sadness, romance, tension, or joy depending on the background used.
In this tutorial, we will see different types of emotional backgrounds and when it's appropriate to use each one.
What are Emotional Backgrounds?
Emotional backgrounds are visual resources that help represent a scene's mood or a character's emotion.
Unlike a traditional background, which tells us where the action takes place, an emotional background has another function:
to make the reader feel the scene.
-Different types:
1. Shock and Impact
Impact backgrounds are ideal for moments of surprise, revelations, scares, or sudden reactions.
We can use them when a character receives unexpected news, discovers something important, or has a very strong reaction.
One of the most used resources is lines that converge towards the character.
These lines help direct the reader's gaze toward the expression and give the reaction more power.
When to use it?
An unexpected revelation.
Important news.
A scare.
An exaggerated reaction.
A dramatic moment.
Example:
Normal scene
Adding an impact background
As we can see, the background makes the character's reaction stand out much more.
Tip: The more important the reaction, the more we can exaggerate the effect. Don't be afraid to use very intense backgrounds in truly important moments.
Material used:
2. Discouragement and Disappointment
Discouragement backgrounds are useful when we want to convey sadness, disappointment, defeat, or loss of energy.
In this type of scene, we can use descending lines, gradients, empty spaces, or patterns that convey a sense of heaviness.
Unlike impact backgrounds, here we seek exactly the opposite:
to make the scene lose energy.
When to use it?
A character fails.
Receives bad news.
Something doesn't go as expected.
They are disappointed.
They are emotionally exhausted.
Example:
Without background
With discouragement background
Notice how the scene can feel much more dull just by adding a simple image.
Tip: We don't always need to fill the panel. In sad scenes, leaving empty areas can help convey loneliness or discouragement.
Material used
3. Romance and Shoujo Style
Shoujo-style backgrounds are perfect for romantic scenes, special moments, or situations where we want to give the scene a more delicate appearance.
Flowers, petals, sparkles, hearts, and other decorative elements can help quickly create this atmosphere.
When to use it?
Confessions.
Romantic scenes.
Characters in love.
Special moments.
Idealization of a character.
Examples:
Normal scene
Adding a shoujo background
Here, the background doesn't have to represent a real place.
Its objective is to convey how the character perceives that moment.
A normal conversation can become a romantic scene simply by using the right elements.
Tip: Shoujo backgrounds work especially well when combined with sparkles, blurs, or soft decorative elements.
Material used
4. Happiness, Comedy, and POP Style
POP backgrounds are ideal for cheerful, fun, exaggerated, or energy-filled scenes.
We can use dots, stars, geometric shapes, hearts, bright colors, and different patterns to create a more dynamic feel.
When to use it?
Comedy.
Excited characters.
Celebrations.
Cheerful scenes.
Exaggerated reactions.
Example:
Before
After
The background helps give much more energy to the scene.
One advantage of this type of background is that we can use them even when the scene doesn't need a traditional background.
Material used
5. Anger and Irritation
When a character is angry, we can use backgrounds with strong lines, diagonals, dense patterns, or aggressive elements.
The intention is to create a visual sense of tension.
When to use it?
Arguments.
Anger.
Frustration.
Characters about to explode.
Aggressive reactions.
Examples:
Without effect
With frustration background
Aggressive lines and patterns make the emotion seem much more intense.
Tip: Diagonal elements usually convey more energy than horizontal or vertical lines.
Material used
6. Mystery
Mystery backgrounds are useful when we want to create a sense of uncertainty or that something exists that the reader does not yet know.
We can use shadows, abstract patterns, textures, fog, or elements that are not easy to interpret.
When to use it?
Revelations.
Mysteries.
Suspicious characters.
Unknown information.
Scenes where we want to generate curiosity.
Example:
Without background
With background
A good mystery background doesn't need to explain what is happening.
Precisely its function can be to make the reader want to discover it.
Material used
7. Fear and Unease
For scary scenes, we can use darker backgrounds, warped patterns, shadows, or lines that produce an uncomfortable feeling.
Here we aren't just looking for the scene to be dark.
We want the background to make the reader feel uncomfortable when looking at the panel.
When to use it?
Horror.
Dangerous situations.
Mystery.
Apparitions.
Something unknown is nearby.
Examples:
Without anything
With unease background
Depending on the background design, we can convey everything from a slight sense of discomfort to true terror.
Material used
How to choose the right background?
A simple way to choose a background is to ask ourselves:
What do I want the reader to feel in this panel?
We can use this small guide as a reference:
Emotion \/ situation Background Type
Surprise: Shock \/ impact
Sadness: Discouragement
Deception: Discouragement \/ descending lines
Romance: Shoujo \/ flowers \/ sparkles
Happiness: POP \/ stars \/ patterns
Comedy: POP \/ dots \/ shapesAngerAggressive lines
Tension: Dense patterns \/ irregular lines
Miedo: Shadows \/ dark backgrounds
Mystery: Abstract patterns \/ shadows
Embarrassment: Soft patterns \/ decorative elements
We don't have to follow these rules strictly.
The important thing is to understand what feeling each resource produces and use it according to the scene.
Final Tips
Emotional backgrounds work best when they accompany the illustration instead of competing with it.
If the character already has a very strong expression, we don't always need to use the flashiest background available.
We can also vary the intensity.
A simpler background can work better for a mild emotion, while a more complex background can be reserved for truly important moments.
And remember:
the background doesn't have to show where the character is; it can also show how they feel.
Materials used in this tutorial
All the backgrounds used in the examples can be found in my materials on CLIP STUDIO ASSETS.
Other materials that may be useful to you:
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