Choosing the Best Background for Your Next Drawing

I know from emails and comments left on other posts that a lot of artists struggle with backgrounds. So today, I’d like to talk to you about choosing the best background for your next drawing.

This post comes in response to a reader question, so let’s start with that.

[Backgrounds are] my weakness. I have a little confidence in drawing and painting subjects but have no confidence at all with backgrounds and don’t seem to have many ideas as to what to do. How can I tell what is the best background?

All too often, artists tend to think of the background as serving a minor role in their artwork. They may ignore it altogether, or skip over it quickly to get to the “fun part”: The subject.

But part of what makes good art good art is the way the subject and background work together to form a cohesive whole.

The Role of Background

The background should support the subject. Whether you’re drawing a still life, a portrait, or a complex action scene, you should choose a background that sets the stage for the subject you’ve chosen.

I’m going to show you the five types of backgrounds I use most often, and explain why that type of background works with each subject.

Five Types of Background and Tips for Choosing the Best Background

There are more than five ways to do a background, but I want to focus on the five I use most often. I’ll explain each one, then share a couple of tips for choosing the best background for every drawing.

Plain Paper Background

This portrait has a plain paper background. The color of the paper is the background. I did nothing else with it.

This used to be my favorite type of background because it’s the easiest to do. Choose the right color paper, and you’re done with the background!

But it gets boring rather quickly, and there are subjects for which a plain paper background just doesn’t work. So although I still use a plain paper background sometimes, I use it sparingly.

Use This Background If:

You’re drawing a simple portrait or still life. A subject that’s portrayed in a simple fashion often works best with a simple background. After all, you don’t want the background to compete with the subject for attention. That just wouldn’t do.

You don’t have much time to finish a drawing. This is especially important with commissioned portraits. If you’re on a short deadline and need to finish quickly, using the color of the paper for a background can be helpful.

You’re working small. I do a lot of small work these days. Usually 8×10 or smaller. There just isn’t a lot of room for a more complex background, so using a color of paper that suits the subject makes a lot of sense.

Don’t Use This Background If:

The composition is very complex. It’s more difficult to make a plain paper color background work well with complex designs. It’s not impossible. I’ve done it a time or two. But think it over carefully first.

The only paper you use is white. Again, this isn’t a written in stone rule. I’ve seen artists use exclusively white backgrounds for all of their work and their work was very nice. And white backgrounds could easily become part of your style. But it can be more difficult to make a plain white background work well, especially with complex designs.

Tinted Background

One step up from a plain paper background, this background is essentially a plain paper background with a little bit of pencil work in selected areas. For Blizzard Babe (below), I shaded darker grays into the corners to focus the attention on the gray mare.

The beauty of using this type of background is that you can let the color of the paper carry the weight of the background until the subject is finished or nearly finished. Then you can tint the background with a color (or colors) that go with or accent the colors in the subject.

You can also add color to the corners as I did here, or add color around the subject. In either case, you should use the background to spotlight the subject.

Use This Background If:

The subject needs a little more than a plain paper background, but would be overwhelmed by a more developed background. This is a judgment call. There is no one-size-fits-all measurement.

To soften or reduce the starkness of a plain paper background. This is the reason I do tinted backgrounds most of the time. Adding a bit of color to a plain paper background is also a good way to add visual interest to the drawing.

Don’t Use This Background If:

The subject is very complex. Again, there is no way to decide that works with every situation. My personal experience, however, has always been to use tinted backgrounds with basic portraits, such as Blizzard Babe.

Tonal or Blurred Background

The drawing below shows a tonal or blurred background. In this case, I wanted to create the illusion of a blurry landscape without actually drawing a landscape, so I used landscape colors, but applied them randomly, then blended them until there were only color and value patterns.

Think of it like the backdrops used by portrait photographers.

This type of background is more labor intensive than either a plain paper or tinted backgrounds, but it is very useful if you want to add color without getting into the detail of a more complex background. It’s very useful for portrait work, still life drawing, or a number of other subjects, so long as the subject is not overly complex.

Use This Background If:

Your subject benefits from a more varied background than tinted or plain paper, but not from a more developed background.

You want a colored background, but prefer using white paper. Tonal backgrounds work great on white paper and you can incorporate some of the colors in the subject to create unity between the subject and the background.

Don’t Use This Background If:

I can’t think of a situation in which a tonal background doesn’t work. I can’t think of a situation in which I used a tonal background for a full figure horse portrait, but I have seen it done. It can be very striking.

Nearly Landscaped Background

This background is the half step between a tonal/blurred background and a fully landscaped background. As you can see below, the landscape is more clearly a landscape and not just a mottling of color and value.

However, it’s nowhere near as detailed as the fully landscaped background in the illustration below. This type of background is a good way to place your subject in a setting without having to draw a complete landscape. It’s also a great way to suggest mood, though you can do that with a tinted or tonal background, as well.

Use This Background If:

You would like the look and feel of a landscape, without all the detail. Concentrate on the shapes and colors in the background, but blur the edges. Keep detail to a minimum, too. Basic light and dark values are usually enough.

Don’t Use This Background If:

You’re drawing a portrait with a single subject shown “up close”. The increased detail could detract from the subject.

The drawing is a “moment in time” drawing. In a drawing like this, you’re attempting to capture not only a subject, but the setting as well. For project like this, a detailed background is probably your best option.

Fully Landscaped Background

This is just what it sounds like: A landscape with your subject in it.

In a drawing like this, the setting is just as important to the drawing as the subject. It’s like a meal in a fancy restaurant compared to the same meal at home, on the couch, in front of the TV.

The subject paired with any other type of background would not convey the same emotional message to the viewer. Especially with portrait work, the background can be just as much a part of what your client wants to remember as the subject.

Use This Background If:

You want to create a scene or tell a story with the artwork. In this case, the setting is as important as the subject. Make sure you get good reference photographs of the setting as well as the subject. All of the photos should be taken on the same day to get the most consistent lighting. If setting and subject were photographed on different days, make sure the lighting is the same or close to the same.

Don’t Use This Background If:

The drawing is a basic portrait such as Joker or Blizzard Babe above. Simple portraits like the black horse and gray horse above often benefit from a more basic background.

A full landscape will distract from the subject. Remember, the subject is the main focus. No matter how nice the setting may be, if it distracts from the subject, either tone it down or don’t use it at all.

You need to finish fast. Fully landscaped backgrounds can double or triple the amount of time it takes to finish a portrait. Keep that in mind when choosing the best background.

Choosing the Best Background

I hope I’ve given you good guidelines for choosing the best background for your next drawing. When you understand the function of the background and why you should give it as much thought as you give the subject, the improvement in the quality of your work will be noticeable.

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