Looking at real photos the further you look to the horizon the less color and definition you see. Do any of you grey out distant scenery or structures?
https://www.dropbox.com/s/m0l281o92xhe3hs/File%20Mar%2005%2C%2012%2016%2007%20PM.jpeg?dl=0
Gary
I don't know if I would call what I did graying it out. I have a printed mural of a lake and I wanted to create a hazy look to it so I lightly misted it with a spray of white paint. I think I achieved what I was looking for. The key was to spray lightly from several feet away. It's easier to put more on than to take off excess.
I also didn't spend a lot of time on my cloud formations. I don't think the backdrop should be an eye catcher. I used the same spray can white to create thin cirrus clouds using a swirling motion but from a closer distance than for the haze. It certainly meets my definition of good enough.
I do use a "haze" look on my back wall to for the illusion of distance. It works quite well. I started by painting the the back wall a very light sky blue. Then I did what I call "dry-rolling". I took my paint roller and dipped in a very, very light blue or gray. I can't remember the exact shade because it was so long ago. Looking at it now, it looks light gray. After dipping the paint roller in the paint, I rolled, rolled, rolled most of the paint off in the pan until the roller felt "dry". Just as you would do if your were dry-brushing a model. Then I made a horizontal pass about 18" above my benchwork. This faint, dull, spotty line became the divider between the blue sky above and the gray haze of the horizon below. Then I painted the lower sky solid haze gray. It turned out very well. I was too chicken to try to paint clouds over my finished work, so I left the sky cloudless. I'm very happy with it.
The sky backdrop shown below is on a coved corner of the room. To add some suggestion of distance, I cut a low hill profile on a piece of 1/8" Masonite, painted it dark green, then sprinkled on a bit of ground foam. After the paint had dried, I misted some flat grey autobody primer (from a spray can) over it to suggest a bit of haze. The panel was then slipped into place between the modelled scenery and the wall. This shot, taken from a low-flying aircraft, doesn't look all that convincing...
...while this one, at eye-level, is a bit better, I think...
The scene below, shot from a small boat on the Maitland River, looks out to the horizon on Lake Erie...
...while my brother added some special effects to this somewhat similar scene to depict an early morning haze over the lake (Photo courtesy of Secord Air Services)...
In some places, though, the horizon is just too close...
Wayne
Distance haze/fade/gray or whatever you wanto to call it is a tried and true technique so when I do get around to a back drop, absolutely.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983