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Ani-MaX
02-08-2010, 03:42 PM
Hey!

My interest mainly lies within CG.. although I've never truly been able to draw on paper I thought it would be wise to step aside from CG and start from scratch , I am pointing towards the earliest artform. 2D drawing. Most artists today are very good at drawing and It's also the most spontaneous way to create art. Wanting to one day work in the world of CG and work with animation I think this is a smart idea, clicking buttons is easy but to draw using only your imagination that's the real challenge.

I purchased myself the wonderful Betty Edwards "Drawing on the right side of the Brain" and have come to the point where I realized I simply can't draw with what Betty Edwards call "the inside eye". When I look at zbrush central and all the magnificent art.. I can't help but wonder.. where does all this magic come from? Sure I can draw with reference images... in fact I am pretty decent at drawing from references but when it comes to drawing for example a magical creature, where and how can I find and utilize it to put it on my paper? What I can visualize are moving and I can't seem to freeze it and get a clear image of it. How do you do it? I try my very best but I can't seem to get my images how I wish them to be.

Could any of you help a fellow friend out, how do you guys get an idea into a mental/visual concept to then be transfered to the physical world?

Thanks in advance,
André
Rebeccak
02-08-2010, 03:57 PM
Most of what comes out of the imagination (in terms of drawing ability) is nurtured by lots and lots (literally, tons) of life drawing, from people and animals. Since there aren't a lot of naked people walking around, you have to draw the nude from life to really understand movement, gesture and structure. Any of us can have imaginative ideas but it requires a lot of disciplined practice in terms of constantly drawing from life to be able to put those ideas down on paper.
Ani-MaX
02-08-2010, 05:04 PM
Thanks for the quick response mate. I'll keep on drawing and I guess sooner or later I'll get to that point where I can draw from imagination.
lemiere
02-09-2010, 06:48 AM
Most of what comes out of the imagination (in terms of drawing ability) is nurtured by lots and lots (literally, tons) of life drawing, from people and animals. ...

Hi Ani-MaX,

Actually, sorry Rebeccak, I partly disagree. I definitely agree on the 'tons of drawing' suggestion - that's a given. Where I depart is on the old "work smarter, not harder" level. You could draw yourself silly till old age and still not have understanding. Rather it's anatomical knowledge that leads to good imaginative drawing!

My advice is to dive deep into anatomical study - this is the anatomy thread after all. Look into some great teachers like Vilppu (http://www.vilppustudio.com/), Bridgman, Loomis, gosh if you're into CG, then you gotta check out Zack Petroc (http://www.zackpetroc.com/)! Zack is da man, when it comes to ZBrush modelling with serious anatomical knowledge. I completed his CGWorkshop some time ago here on CGSociety - the best thing I have ever done.

Yes, draw lots, but draw from a rich pool of knowledge. Zack reckons on average it takes five years of solid study to be a good sculpture. I tend to agree, but only if you are learning about the structure that underlies the human form. Take that knowledge and Wow!, you can draw anything convincing, from the deepest well of your imagination.

All the best.
PieJesu
03-31-2010, 12:46 PM
I also heavily suggest your learn anatomy.


Drawing from life, or 'copying from life', isn't really going to help you understand any of the forms.

Knowing your anatomy, knowing what lies beneath the surface, will help you gain a sense a volume, mass, depth...

To draw from imagination you should learn construction based techniques. For this I can recommend none other than Vilppu. His lectures will pretty much give you all the knowledge you need. Just make sure you put effort into actually *learning* the anatomy, and not simply copying the shapes. It will pretty much transform your understanding of the world.
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