As previously mentioned, the weather inspiration for the Cascade Subdivision is a chilly, rainy spring day, and to begin to capture this effect, I needed a rainy gray sky to fit the bill. Studying prototype photos, I found that the color of the clouds is closer to an off-white than a gray and the color chip that matched was aptly called "Evaporation."
I started small with the backdrops on the middle level of the helix, a place with dense trees and tunnels, but small areas that could offer a peak at a hidden vista depending on the viewing angle. The goal was simply to give the impression of distant hills and trees, not to accurately paint each tree individually. Working with cheap acrylic craft paints and my sky color, I worked to paint the distant hills first, then moving into the foreground, paying close attention to color and shape.
