Okay, this is going to sound so newb-ish but I haven't had a need for this kind of info until now. Since I made the decision to start a new project and go with something outdoorsy, I'm having trouble figuring out how every normal red blooded human 3D artist creates his/her backgrounds.

I see how people use image planes, stand them up and map an image onto that but that seems like it'd look kinda flat, wouldn't it? How do you create depth that way? Secondly, I've seen in the Hypershader there's a section of Environment texture nodes - is this used as well? I'm trying to kinda go for a fairly photo real look as this is going to be a story, I think, that deals with the Civil War and a man's trek through the woods in search of his family and his sanity.

How do you all do your backgrounds? Hopefully someone can shed some light on this mishagoss! Also, would anyone suggest using Paint Effects in an outdoor shot or is it a waste of time?

Russell