Abstract

In 2D animation, the background, or layout, provides the essential illusion of a three-dimensional world on a flat screen. This illusion is not static; it is created through a set of specific, foundational techniques that give the world depth and life. The first step is the layout, which acts as a blueprint for the scene. Layout artists use the principles of linear perspective, such as vanishing points and horizon lines, to establish the ‘camera’s’ view and create a mathematically believable space for characters to inhabit.

Motion is introduced through parallax. This is an optical effect where background elements move slower than foreground elements, simulating depth. Animators achieve this by separating artwork into multiple layers (e.g., foreground, middle ground, background) and moving them at different speeds during a camera pan. This technique was physically realized by the multiplane camera, a device developed at Walt Disney Studios that filmed through stacked, moveable layers of glass.

Finally, depth is painted using atmospheric perspective. This technique mimics the effect of air and distance by making objects farther away appear lighter, less detailed, and less saturated. Distant elements often shift toward cooler, blue-gray tones. Modern digital animation software uses these same core principles to create immersive, believable 2D worlds.

Keywords

Animation, Background Design, Parallax, Atmospheric Perspective, Layout

In two-dimensional animation, characters move on a flat plane. A background is not just a static image they walk in front of; it is a tool used to create the illusion of a deep, believable world. Animators and background artists use specific techniques to “push” the background back, making a flat drawing feel like a real environment.

Building the stage: Layout and perspective

The process begins with the layout. The layout artist acts as the scene’s cinematographer, taking the storyboards and translating them into a defined space. This stage establishes the camera angle, the composition of the elements, and the rules of the environment.

The primary tool for this is linear perspective. Layout artists construct the scene using a horizon line (the line where the sky appears to meet the ground) and vanishing points (the points on that line where parallel lines seem to converge). This framework allows artists to draw objects, buildings, and natural features at a consistent and correct scale, so a house in the distance looks proportionally smaller than a character in the foreground. This technical drawing provides the blueprint for a convincing 3D space.

Creating motion: The parallax effect

The most effective technique for showing depth during camera movement is parallax. Parallax is the principle where objects closer to a viewer appear to move faster than objects farther away.

You can see this effect from a car window: nearby trees blur past quickly, while distant mountains seem to barely move. Animators replicate this by splitting the background into multiple layers. For example:

  • Foreground Layer: A fence or some bushes.
  • Middle Ground Layer: A house and the main action.
  • Background Layer: Distant mountains and the sky.

When the camera “pans” sideways, the foreground layer moves fastest across the screen, the middle ground moves at a moderate speed, and the background layer moves the slowest. This separation of layers creates a powerful, non-static illusion of depth.

A physical solution: The multiplane camera

The parallax technique was so effective that it led to a major technological invention. In the 1930s, Walt Disney Studios developed the multiplane camera to automate this process for films.

This device was a vertical stand, often two stories high, with a camera at the very top pointing down. The background artwork was painted on multiple, separate panes of glass, which were slotted into the stand at different levels. Operators could move each layer of glass independently—left, right, toward, or away from the camera—frame by frame. This allowed for complex, dynamic shots, such as the opening “pan” through the village in Pinocchio (1940), where the camera appears to fly through a physical space.

Faking the air: Atmospheric perspective

Depth is also created with color and detail. Atmospheric perspective, also called aerial perspective, is the visual effect of the atmosphere on objects viewed at a distance.

As objects get farther from the viewer, they are seen through more air, dust, and moisture. This interference has two main effects that artists use:

  1. Contrast and Detail: Objects in the foreground have sharp details and high contrast (deep shadows, bright highlights). Distant objects become faded, have less detail, and show less contrast between light and dark.
  2. Color: The particles in the atmosphere scatter light. This typically causes distant objects to lose saturation (color intensity) and shift toward the color of the sky, appearing lighter and cooler, or more blue-gray.

An artist will paint a foreground tree with rich greens and dark shadows, but paint a distant mountain range with pale, washed-out blues. This color strategy pushes the mountains back and pulls the tree forward.

These foundational principles—perspective in layout, parallax in motion, and atmospheric perspective in painting—are still the basis for background design today. Modern digital animation programs like Toon Boom Harmony or Adobe After Effects provide digital tools that simulate Z-depth (a depth axis) and blurs, allowing artists to apply these same techniques to create worlds that feel deep and alive.