Uncomfortable

2023-05-20 22:57

While AutoModerator pointed out that this subreddit is geared towards a fairly narrow focus and purpose, and that other communities may be better suited to your question, I did want to provide a bit of extra information for you to chew upon.

Drawing from your imagination is a skill that depends on a couple things:

• The development of one's visual library - that is, the collection of information pertaining to a wide variety of subject matter. It's developed through study - that is, drawing things from observation, either from life or from photo reference, and through that process being forced to consider aspects of that subject matter to a level of depth we can only really achieve by patiently and carefully drawing them. Earlier on this can be simply with the intent of copying them visually, but as we progress as students, we learn to change our approach depending on what it is specifically we wish to study of a given object (how its elements fit together, the kinds of details that it may often feature, how those details or elements are arranged, proportions, colour palettes, etc). By "studying" them, we record information to our internal visual library, to be able to pull them out later and apply in our own work. Sometimes we might draw from our visual library directly, sometimes we might use our visual library to identify what kinds of references might suit the thing we're trying to produce.

• The development of one's spatial reasoning skills - that is, the understanding of how complex objects can be broken down into simple 3D forms, and how those forms can be manipulated in 3D space. This plays a role in a few different ways. It allows us to approach the kind of studying I mentioned in the previous point by focusing on the structure of the subject, understanding it as a series of simple forms rather than just one big form. It can also allow us to make alterations to those simple forms before reconstructing the whole on the page - so for example, you might need to draw a person, and you might have a pretty close reference for the pose you're after, but you might need to change it so the arm is raised instead of lowered, or have the head turned in one direction instead of another. It can even allow you to combine multiple pieces of reference, pulling a little from each. And lastly, it can allow us to greatly simplify the volume of information we may be trying to commit to our visual library - instead of having to consider a wealth of different data points, we can learn to simplify things into simple arrangements of 3D forms, which is generally far easier to recall and work from.

The course this subreddit focuses on, Drawabox.com, focuses on the latter. It's a course geared entirely towards developing one's spatial reasoning skills, from the position of a complete beginner. That said, it is not an easy course, not one that can be completed quickly. It requires a great deal of patience, so it's not for everyone. It is however freely available. You can learn more about it here - the video at the top explains it in more detail.

Another video that might be useful to you is this one I made for the Proko YouTube channel on the topic of Aphantasia. In principle it's a bit tangential, but in discussing the fact that my aphantasia (the inability to visualize my imagination in my head) is not really a relevant "disability", I go quite in depth about how I approach drawing from my imagination, and explain that it is an approach that is used widely - regardless of one's ability to visualize. It includes demonstrations on doing quick studies from reference images, and then leveraging spatial reasoning skills to extract that information and leverage it to create new things.

Hope that helps.

please_scare_me

2023-05-21 00:07

I love this question! Theres a saying, in order to make apple pie, you must first invent the universe.

You simply gotta go a little crazy. You gotta get creative!

1. Spend time among nature. Nature is natures nature. Human beings and nature go way back.

2. Allot time in your day for daydreaming. You can kickstart this by doing something boring, like reading the bible. When you brainstorm, it is more beneficial to write by hand, and question the lines on the paper. Who put them there? Only sheep need shepherds.

3. Dont be too hard on yourself. Remember to take baby steps.

4. Appreciate different mediums of artistic expression, whatever that means to you. Music, fashion, interior design, cooking, organization, penmanship, algebra, makeup, death growls, put a bow tie on your cat, grow magic mushrooms its all connected to the same thing

5. Art is simply a combination of Talent and Skill. It is possible to make art with literally zero talent. You simply must pull your weight in skill. But I dont believe that anyone has zero talent. :)

6.a) Develop a relationship with yourself. You have a unique relationship with your partner, your dog, your child, your father, the mailman, the girl in the basement, your boss, your ex, your sister, the other girl in the basement, your dentist. So why wouldnt you have a unique relationship with yourself? What does that mean to you?

b) Develop a secret alter-ego. Do not take Ambien during this time.

7. Challenge your daily routine. Watch a really scary movie. Put on two different coloured socks just because. Other people can see your mismatched ankles. Start doing Meatless Mondays, maybe youll learn something. Take the stairs, observe some vandalism that says SUCK MY AIDS-INFESTED C#%K. Hey, that gives me an idea for a drawing!

8. Get a journal and put it under your pillow (this charges it). Write all your dreams in your dream journal, as closely upon waking as possible.

9. There is no such thing as wasted time.

Now, I know what youre thinking. What is a really scary movie?

Notes:

: Consider challenging nature, and watch it steamroll over you and everyone you love. Courtney Loves best album was written in rehab.

: Dream journals may cause lucid dreaming.

: I think Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a pretty scary movie.

Helen-Baq

2023-05-21 09:19

First, use references and draw from life. You will improve much faster from actually drawing things that exist. Depending on what kind of imaginative drawing you want to do, you need to study landscapes, or animals, people, anatomy, etc. As you learn how to draw, start working on combining things, like turning an orchid into a monster, or a cat with a fish head. Even if you want to draw completely imaginary creatures, like dragons, you will still benefit immensely from learning to draw life and learning comparative anatomy. You'll know basic bone and muscle structure, gesture and movement, etc., and all of that will show in your artistic skills.

A really good book, which is unfortunately out of print last I checked, is "Keys to Drawing" by Bert Dodson. Another good book is "Imaginative Realism" by James Gurney, who was the creator of Dinotopia. He walks you through how to build small sets and machetes and how to incorporate real life references to come up with fantastical settings and creatures.