tudoujie:

in one word: practice! but here’s a more detailed response:

what’s really difficult about perspective / backgrounds is that you have to imagine an ENTIRE space on a two dimensional surface (a piece of paper, blank canvas, etc.), so it requires a lot of perspective knowledge and spatial imagination in order to draw it properly. 

the best way to practice is to draw from photographs (go on pinterest or google image search), movie screencaps/comps, possibly even delving into 3D software and messing around with objects in space that way. even playing video games that have really amazing visuals can help- you can take screenshots and try to draw them (that’s what i did with FFXIV)

there are many tutorials online on how to handle perspective and environments, but it’s overwhelming to just start drawing. backgrounds. in general. so i broke down little milestones for myself to practice. 

this is roughly the order i went through:

bedrooms >>> kitchens/bathrooms >>> living rooms >>> cafes/shops/classrooms >>> alleyways/storefronts >>> large buildings/streets >>> natural landscapes

it’s just my PERSONAL view on what is most easy to draw and then what’s most difficult. the larger the space is, the harder it is to imagine it.

obviously, those listed are not the ONLY kinds of backgrounds you can practice, but i think it’s a logical progression into handling backgrounds with more elements/detail, until you are good enough at them to make up whatever compositions you’d like! and that just takes a lot of practice.