Blurred backgrounds

[Keropi]

Does anyone have any "painted" backgrounds that were used in scenes where the background was blurred?

I've seen several computer generated blurred printed backgrounds from cel produced anime series, but I don't recall ever seeing PAINTED backgrounds from blurred scenes. Maybe they're much less common than computer produced backgrounds I really have no idea.

How did they blur backgrounds in older animated series?

[miz ducky]

They could have moved the background with the camera on a very slow shutter speed.

I honestly have no idea, it's just a thought.

[RX78GP02AGUNDAM]

Some of the last cel series use this method. Some use actual pictures and blur them, while others use actual backgrounds and just blur them, then print it out to use as a background. Series in which I have both the blurred print out and the original drawn background are Hunter x Hunter, Mezzo Forete, Burn Up Exxess and such. Theyre most likely made by just blurring in on a computer.

[sensei]

I have some backgrounds that were scanned, manipulated, then printed out again on glossy paper. One was actually mounted on the background sheet on top of the original watercolor. The cels were then photographed on top of this lasercopy print rather than the original. This was done to darken the color and crank up the contrast, but I'd guess that the same thing could be done to scan, then fuzz or streak the image.

Airbrushing on an acetate overlay could also have the same effect. On one of my MKR cels, there's a top layer showing a black design with a sharp outline. This was painted on the back of the cel, as usual, but its outlines were blurred with airbrushing on the front of the cel.

Interesting question.

[Keropi]

Interesting information guys. Thanks.

Does anyone know if backgrounds are becoming a dying breed (computerized-only) also?

I'm not really a background-only collector, but if I like a background a lot, there's hardly anything from it or if I like the background for its own merits I might consider getting it.

[Caroline]

being an animation artist myself, i can vouch that bg's are still a very respected medium and not a dying breed... at least not in tv. i know several creators who will fight for a traditional approach where it is appropriate. but yes, unfortunately we're in a digital age that depends on the speed and convenience of computers. traditional methods are never going to be as prominent as they once were.

[Krafty]

There are 4 or 5 styles of 'painted backgrounds', many of which have been mentioned above.
Like RX says, computer-altered BGs were printed out on Mezzo Forte OVA and I've got a handful of these. I assumed the reason for doing this was to blur the original paintings done on card and to adjust the contrast. It is evey effective and adds to the visual vibrancy.

Just today I as looking a setup from The Guyver [1989] that I received this week and the BG is a complex 'Book' composition comprising of 4 layers. A green, cloudy 'sky' with a muted shadow of 4 trees on the base cel layer. On top of that, on another layer, is white airbrushing to indicate mist. The third 'background layer' are painted highlights to the trees and the main character sits as the top layer.
That kind of layering would never be done nowadays because of all the effort that goes into it. I can see why they ran out of budget on The Guyver if that was a traditional work practice.

I also have two other 'printed-on-paper' backgrounds [POP BGs] (can I coin that term? *LOL*) that were used in the hentai series, Teacher's Pet, aka Natural [Feb 1992]. I assume this was an early application of POP BGs as these use crude computer effects, but something that would still be very time consuming if done by hand. One image was colourized and the other was a gritty motion-blur. I don't have these displayed in my gallery yet to demonstrate.

But, in terms of regular hand-painted BGs that have been blurred, I have those too. It's merely a case of watering down the paint around the edges of objects so there's no solid outline; water colour paints have the perfect properties for achieving this look. It is a good effect when you want a crisp forground to stand out by creating this shallow 'depth of field'.