I strongly recommend using a white backdrop, could be a wall in your house or a sheet of foam board, a strong light (maybe a 250 or 500 watt shop light and colored filters (I personally recommend this pack) but even just a cheap set of gels should do the trick. It helps to get the set as far from the backdrop as possible so nothing reflects onto the set 2 to 4 feet should do nicely. If you are using a DSLR (which I know you don't but others might find this useful) the longer the lens you use, the smaller the backdrop needs to be, also using longer lenses helps create a better sense of scale for wide shots while a wide angle lens like a webcam will require you to have a much larger backdrop the further your set is from it and the sense of scale will end up looking smaller.

I recommend trying combination of two gels so the sky has more of a gradient. Keep in mind any time you cover a light with a gel you loose about 1/3 of the brightness of the light, which is why you want a much brighter light for your backdrops then your sets.

A white wall several feet from my set

A 2x3 feet piece of foam core + a long lens

Same 2x3 foot poster board also with a long lens

I reccommend poster board. I use it all the time. In my opinion, you should never use a blue baseplate for the sky. It's ugly, and in-focus and doesn't give the illusin that there is more to your LEGO world that the set itself. Poster board can come in may different colors, so you can have one for any occasion. The tree main colors you should get if you don't want to buy a boatload of posterboard is Green, Blue, White, and Black. Green for chroma-key, Blue for sky and chroma key, white for things that require white backdrops like dream sequences, and black for night time. You can also paint white spots on the posterboard to make stars if you want. Alternatively, you can use foam board, which will stand up better, but it's harder to get in more colors than black and white. The thing about using backdrops though, is that you MUST cover up the horizon line or it will kill your effect of there being "more out there", and you may as well use blue baseplates for the sky.

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"Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." - 1 Corinthians 10:31b

It might help to have a link to your magazine so we can see what you mean.

YouTube • Website

"Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." - 1 Corinthians 10:31b

Wow! Those results tho......

Thanks guys.  I'm going to experiment with a blue sheet and blue card and see what looks better.  I'm guessing the card might be too shiny (even if matte).  I can't get the board 2 feet away but it should be about 1 foot - which is better than hard up against the set, so I'll work it that way.

I'll post up test shots when I get that sorted.  Thanks! 

It's probably too hot for gels, but on amazon there's duely 1000 watt shop light that comes with a decent stand for like 35 bucks. It got decent reviews. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0002YW2C … amp;sr=8-2

Last edited by Gentry Studios (October 15, 2014 (10:17am))

gels do not melt or burn, you can use them on lights with more than 1k watts, a shop light was what I had in mind for a cheap option.