I think I need some ideas and methods from you guys about how you make you BG's
(flash BG's and stuff)
Do you start off with the BG's or the characters first ?
Can anyone kindly show me a rough sketch of a BG that can be executed into a proper painting or illustration .
Is it necessary to have a horizon line for ''landscape-ish'' BGs ?
Do we ALWAYS need a BG ?
Will white do ?
Are your BG as detailed as your characters ?

I shall now retreat to receive help from the worthy ....
btw thanks

Backgrounds are good if you want the environment to help out what you're trying to animate. I mean if you're doing a fight in a pleasant meadow the atmosphere won't fit very well. A blank white or black background can be sufficient as well. Plan your backgrounds as you would your character's actions. If you want a feeling of depravity or soullessness you can have all of the colors be less saturated and have the background be gloomy, cloudy and rainy.

Sketching out the background isn't bad. You'll need a horizon, background animation, and probably clouds or landscape items very far away that would move very slowly in comparison to the rest of the landscape.

But really you don't always need a BG. They can just help the viewer set a mood or put them in a reality, but they're not absolutely needed for it.

Is it a good idea to blur out the background like alot of animators use these days ?

I'd say blur out the bg only if your characters are moving really fast, to enhance the effect. Also fights happen anywhere, including pleasant meadows. Atmosphere is better used to evoke emotion or a sense of immersion and you can't really get immersed in a simple stick fight.

Course I doubt I will be using them in a stick fight :D
I'm talking bout drawings .
But they're pretty much the same ...