How to create convincing environment art

Environment art can be challenging, but if you're struggling to make your landscapes engaging, I have a few tips that I think might help.

Below, I've picked out some quick suggestions to help with creating interesting and believable landscapes based on my own process. If you need new tools, see our pick of the best drawing tablets and the best digital art software.

Juan Diego León

Visual development artist JD is based in Lima, Peru. He has worked on trading card game Disney Lorcana for a number of years, plus other big-name animation projects and games.

01. Depth charge

(Image: © Juan Diego Leon)

Create elements that can be repeated in both the foreground and background for depth.

02. Top tool

(Image: © Juan Diego Leon)

Large brushes are great for environments. They generate the sense of density in the air and create more interesting settings.

03. Sparing details

(Image: © Juan Diego Leon)

Not everything has to be super detailed. Keep the details in the important areas and use textured brushes for the rest.

04. Rule of three

(Image: © Juan Diego Leon)

Divide your scene into three main layers: the foreground, the midground and the background. Doing this makes it much easier to organise all the different elements of the environment.

05. Star of the show

(Image: © Juan Diego Leon)

A method for coming up with an interesting composition is to think of one element that draws attention over everything else in the scene. You can do this with shapes, colours or even lighting.

06. Value placement

(Image: © Juan Diego Leon)

Always control the values. You should be able to have as much variety in them as possible, keeping the darker ones for the foreground and the lighter ones for the main focus of the concept.

07. 3D head start

Using the best 3D modelling programs can help achieve good compositions quickly. They’re much more efficient when you’re looking to create fast concepts and interesting compositions.

08. Set the tone

(Image: © Juan Diego Leon)

Think of a colour mood, or the feeling that you’d like to convey with your environment. Loneliness, fear, joy; use of colour can convey a lot for your story.

09. Gridlock

(Image: © Juan Diego Leon)

Use perspective grids to help you create a believable perspective for your scene. It may take a few extra minutes at the beginning of your process, but in the long run it will help you maintain more accurate proportions.

10. You’re the architect

The world is full of awesome architecture, so why not look to it for inspiration! There’s such variety for you to research, whether its through photos, or using Street View on Google Maps.

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