Hi! I really wanted to ask you for guidance on drawing! Your backgrounds are unbelievably awesome and as an Asian American it really inspires me. So I’d love if you could throw some tips at me on how to draw sceneries like the ones that you do. Also point me to where I can educate myself in Chinese culture. I’m sad to admit I don’t know much about it as I would like.
Hello, sorry for the late reply! Thanks for your kind message!
When it comes to backgrounds, I didn’t become comfortable with them until only last year, when I got a job as a Backgrounds Designer which basically forced me to deal with backgrounds full time. The only tips I can give is to practice from references, do studies, and most importantly, learn perspective. And then, learn lighting - observe in real life how shadows and light hit objects. Lighting is what really brings an entire piece alive.
References are extremely useful and educational; most of my sceneries are based on elements taken from a bunch of photo references I liked. After you paint enough backgrounds, you build up a library in your mind. I frequently use these tumblrs as sources:
https://thenordroom.tumblr.com/
https://hakkui.tumblr.com/
https://fuckyeahchinesegarden.tumblr.com/
As for Chinese culture, a lot of what I know is from family, like birthday and new year traditions, feng shui, etc, and these also vary (sometimes a lot) depending on which region of China you might be from, which Chinese ethnicity you are, or interested in. It’s definitely hard if you don’t have an immediate source in friends or family, since so much of what you find about other cultures (esp anything chinese lmao) is whitewashed or propagandized here. If you have the time and money, travelling is the best way to truly learn about any country or culture, by experiencing it first hand.
Another great source is dramas and movies. I’d recommend historical or real life genres if you’re interested in cultural stuff, but fantasy stuff can be just as good. I’ve been recommended Youth (2017), Better Days (2019), Nirvana in Fire (ladies in armourrr), The Story of Ming Lan (the music in thisss) - these are good to start off, gorgeous works, and there’s a lot to learn from them. Ooh, and for something fun, if you haven’t watched it already, i HIGHLY recommend The Legend of Hei (basicaly Chinese Ghibli about the environment and found family). These are all popular enough that you can probably find them subbed online…
Outside of these, here are a few tumblrs I follow that have amazing bits and pieces about Chinese cultures:
https://ziseviolet.tumblr.com/ - a veritable wealth of info on Chinese clothing
https://guzhuangheaven.tumblr.com/ - recs of historical cdramas
https://fuckyeahchinesefashion.tumblr.com/ - chinese arts posts
Hope this helps. Thanks again for your message!