Tried a 100% opacity background for a portrait and it looked totally flat

I was working on a character piece in Procreate and decided to fill the whole background with a solid dark blue at full opacity, thinking it would make the subject pop. Instead, the whole image lost depth and looked like a cheap cutout, even with good shading on the figure itself. I learned that even a tiny bit of texture or a slight gradient in the background, maybe around 95% opacity, adds a lot more dimension. Has anyone else had a simple choice like that ruin the feel of a piece?

2 comments

2 Comments

oliviak9821d ago

Honestly sounds like you're overthinking it. A flat background can look clean and modern, not cheap.

allen.cole21d ago

It often just looks unfinished to me.