ramonn90
Creating From Imagination - 3 Tips to Bootstrap Your Process
Published: June 6th 2023, 2:53:55 pm
Hey guys,
As artists, we strive to create 100% original art, something we feel proud of and that's also unique. However, we often face a daunting barrier due to a lack of creativity and technical skills. The solution is straightforward; drawing from imagination is simply using your memory to record moments and grasp the technical structures of art fundamentals while sitting in front of your laptop, PC, sketchbook, or canvas.
To become efficient, you must dedicate a significant amount of time to practice. But what if you still don't feel good enough to tackle this challenge? Well, don't worry about it. Here are three tips to get you started:
1. Identify your weakness.
From all the things you feel you're not in control of, pick one. Maybe it's the poses of your characters, maybe the colors, maybe the expressions. Grab one of those and save as many references as you can. Start your creation from one reference and build the rest of the piece from that. Make it a rule not to use any other reference but that one you decided to start with, even if the ref doesn't have nice lighting or good colors, or the quality is super bad. Your focus should be on capturing that "thing" you think is important but feel you can't get right at the moment.
For example, I found a cool reference for the perspective of the shot. I don't really care too much about values, colors, costumes or any other bits of the original reference, but I always like finding interesting shots of the world where perspective can be shown in some way.
This tip is super useful if it's work-related. Say you need to deliver an original idea but you're having a tough time with "expression", for instance. Well, tackle that one thing with one reference and build the rest from your own ideas.
2. When was the last time you laughed?
I think of this tip as remembering a particular moment in your life, not necessarily laughter, but anything substantial to you. Start building from that situation. For instance, last week my girl was trying to bake a cake but the blender failed. I ended up whipping the cream by hand, a task so arduous that I spent 30 minutes or more just getting the cream to the right consistency, it felt like an hour of cardio. I thought it would be interesting to replicate this moment using my current character design format. I initially tried to draw myself, but then thought it would be funnier if she had the large muscular body instead.
By giving form to your experiences, you can gain insightful understanding of what drawing from imagination is. Eventually, you might even create fictional situations based on your past personal experiences.
3. Start small and easy.
I often begin an illustration with the eyes, without really knowing where I'm going. I approach the drawing process as a pressure-free journey. I recommend trying this as a personal exercise in your free time, it's essential to have zero expectations. Choose one small aspect of your creative process that you're comfortable with and push that idea in the most unconventional way you can. What's your definition of weird or bizarre? That's the one. There are absolutely no rules as long as you maintain that initial step you enjoy.
What tends to happen is that you'll stay within your comfort zone by achieving this first controlled goal and then you might feel confident to build on that. Did you ruin the "thing" you liked by exploring too much? That's okay. Since it's supposed to be "small and easy," you can try again from a different perspective.
Like anything in the creative process, you need to pivot from your start. You can choose to face your weakness, celebrate a cherished moment, or simply bootstrap within your comfort zone. The critical part is breaking through the fear that inhibits exploration, enabling you to become the best version of yourself. Drawing from imagination is a journey into shaping your thoughts. You might think it's purely technical, but in truth, the real value in this process lies in your ideas, regardless of their composition, anatomy, values, or colors. You can do this!
I'll be sharing more practical tips, process videos, and files about these pieces tomorrow in the "Mastering Maestro" tier and above, so stay tuned!.
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