Where do you find pictures to put inside your buildings for backgrounds, and would you put a matte finish on them to make them last?
Do you use regular paper? do you get them off google images and just print them?
Tom H
Tom,
I get most of my images from the internet. For example, for my general store, I just searched for “general store” and found a lot of images suitable for the interior. I download the images and use Microsoft Office to size, crop, and otherwise manipulate the image as needed.
I print the images on matte finish photo paper on an inkjet printer. I mount the images to pieces of foam board or PVC board. I spray them with a clear flat finish to provide moisture and UV protection. I mount the boards to the inside walls of the structure.
One neat trick is to insert the images into Microsoft Powerpoint and use the image enhancement features to play with the perspective. Then mount the modified images to the side walls of the building. You can have a building that is only a few inches deep look like a full depth structure when you look in through the doors or windows.
Bob, show us how that looks. A picher is worth a thousand words.
Joe,
I am in the process of putting together a step-by-step post about how I am building the general store. The post will have photos looking in through the front door and windows that show how the effect works.
In a nutshell, the perspective photo process goes something like this. First you take an image that you want to use for one of the side walls and crop it. It then looks like this:
Next, you put the cropped image into Microsoft Powerpoint and manipulate the perspective to get something like this.
You do the same thing for the image that goes on the right wall, except that the perspective is reversed from right to left. You can do the same thing with the images for the floor and ceiling or these can be left plain without images. The image for the back wall is not manipulated with perspective, just made smaller to give the impression of distance. The five images are combined into a flat-topped pyramid with the open base against the inside of the front wall. When you look in through the front door or windows, all you see are the five images. Here is a composite of a left wall, rear wall, and right wall image. I did these in a hurry, just to show what I mean. I did not take any great care to match the edges or adjust the relative sizes, but you get the idea of how the multiple images can work together to give the impression of depth.
You will understand the concept better when I post the how-to article.
You can play around by placing different images on the left, back, and right walls to get different effects, even with the same images. Here is what I mean:
I’ve used a similar technique and find it quite useful. I don’t trust my inkjet prints, so I head over to my local Staples and get them color-laser printed on high quality paper. I don’t have any proof it lasts longer, but it does look good. Like Bob, I spray mine with a clear UV sealer.
Just to bring this topic back to the top for those who read it earlier … I made a couple of significant edits further explaining how you can use the perspective images to your advantage.
Might even be better as an article, Bob. Good stuff.
Thanks guys, lots of good stuff, been on google images and have a lot of stuff saved.
Bob when you stretch it out does it lose its image?
Tom
Thanks guys, lots of good stuff, been on google images and have a lot of stuff saved.
Bob when you stretch it out does it lose its image?
Tom
Thanks guys, lots of good stuff, been on google images and have a lot of stuff saved.
Bob when you stretch it out does it lose its image?
Tom
Thanks guys, lots of good stuff, been on google images and have a lot of stuff saved.
Bob when you stretch it out does it lose its image?
Tom
Yeah. Thanks all for the tips.
Sorry button stuck
Tom
If you place things in the middle like tables with items on the tables, carts or any item will catch the eye
mostly, and the back walls will be a great enhancement for any 3D items in the middle.
A Great place for some doll house items, A table on the side with a cash register, would be very fitting.
Dennis
A company call Texas Craft sells a white printable adhiesive vinyl in 8X11 sheets. in either laser print or inkjet. If you use inkjet, spray coat with a clear coat. I print my interiors on this and adhere vinyl to walls or scrap acetate plastic I get from the local hardware.
I also use the clear vinyl for store windows signs. Here I use pigmented injet inks.