How to Draw Background Characters

(Or, how to make your main characters stand out from the crowd)

Lately, I've had plenty of opportunity to draw crowds while working on my main project, because I've been following my character around the city. When I started drawing the scene, I hated drawing crowds. Now, I don't, mainly because I've started to figure out how. Today, I'd like to share some of what I learned with you.

This is Sarah. She's standing in a crowded place (perhaps a train station), and she's alone. She isn't talking to anyone, and there are no other major characters in the panel. Because I generally like to draw the foregrounds first--unless the background is an important and complicated scene which needs to be drawn separately--I drew Sarah first.

 Next, I started to sketch in the people around her. I started with basic shapes, and then started putting in details. It's important to be aware of how much space there is for people to stand in. The characters in the background usually don't need as much detail as the major characters in the scene. I didn't put faces on my crowd. You can if you like, but remember that the more detail you put into a character, the more the viewer's attention will be drawn to them. Also, if your main subject isn't at the front of the crowd, you may have to put a bit more detail into the members of the crowd standing closer to the viewer than they are, so that the level of detail on your major character makes more sense to the eye.
If you're having a hard time drawing the characters in the background, or your crowd just doesn't look believable, try giving your crowd something to do. Most people don't stand around doing nothing, just gazing into the air or staring to a wall (though some people do, myself included). Put your people in clusters, give them someone to talk to, something to read, or something to carry. Have them glance down at their watch, or talk on the phone; the possibilities are nearly endless.

Colour can also be helpful in distinguishing your important characters from the crowd. You can try giving you crowd a smaller colour pallet, just four or five colours, maybe fewer. If you're working digitally, try fiddling around with brightness, contrast, and saturation. Colour your crowd in muted shades, or in grey scale. When you think you've got it, step back, and take a look at what you've drawn. Where does your eye jump to? What details do you notice? Does the image make sense when you look at it? Perhaps you realize that one of your crowd members is inexplicably missing his legs. Go back, and touch it up until you're happy with it, and try to have fun.
Good luck with your crowd scene.