Above are some finished roughs with development thumbnails I completed in the excellent background design class at The Animation Academy. Lacking much formal instruction, I found the emphasis on perspective and composition extremely helpful. We even took a few field trips to The Getty Museum to observe these techniques at work in classical paintings, and spent an afternoon sketching foliage at the Los Angeles County Arboretum.

The Arboretum would also be a great place to visit for students in a peacock drawing class. The place is lousy with peafowl, and they are not bashful.