How do you train imagination? I do studies and everything but

your visual library m8 , look at the world around you

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>>2430358

How do I visual library something like this?

>>2430365

You don't usually start with the finished product as an image in your head. You draw from things you know. You experiment and design.

Lots of people who do stuff like that do thumbnail sketches and quick designs before they settle on one to polish. They throw shit at the wall and see what sticks, and use different elements of different things they know.

>>2430365
A fictional beast uses parts from real animals, almost like creating your own Frankenstein when you think about it.

>>2430365
Don't be so fucking obtuse for a milisecond. Obviously this is composed out of several elements in the artist's visual library like teeth, reptilian flesh patterns, horns, rocks, wings,and other dragons made by other artists. Making art from imagination is just exaggerating/alternating and piecing together things from your memory and other artists in hopefully interesting and imaginative ways, and then applying your technical skill to make it look appealing.

>>2430365
Look at generic dragon pictures on deviant art and magic the gathering cards.

I can tell you have a problem if that's your idea of what's imaginative

I don't think anyone's really answering your question, anon.

i think you need to consume more media. Books, art, games, etc. Things you like that you'd like to draw. I love boring generic medieval shit so I read about it and get inspiration from that. also if you like fantasy creatures yugioh cards are good to look at.

>>2430385

>yugioh
>not mtg

other than that I agree

Do you sketch regularly OP? (No, you aren't allowed to answer negatively)

Sketching isn't just for grinding heads and figures all Loomis like, you can also train your imagination. Just put some music on (if that helps you concentrate) and start drawing lines on paper. Don't try to think too hard about what you're about to draw, instead allow yourself to get into the "zone", start with random squiggles and shits and let them develop into shapes and designs. You might surprise yourself with how weird images you can come up with if you just let your subconscious take over.

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>>2430435

Yeah sometimes I try this but I get demotivated when they don't look like pic related and stop trying, guess I'll just have to bruteforce getting good.

>>2430612
Stop comparing yourself to people with years of more experience.

>>2430365
I see a lot of influence of fish in that. I bet the artist studied fish. Original ideas come from combining common ones.

>>2430612
comparing yourself to artists with years of experience only makes u feel bad

Training your imagination = developing taste. Here's what I mean, if you can't come up with cool shit it's because you don't know what's cool. But more importantly you don't know what you think is cool. Doing anything creative is 2 seperate skills that both require the same time and energy investment, training your imagination (taste) and training your ability (craft), without ideas you're just a toolset to be bought by other people (not necessarily bad) without ability you're an "ideas guy". So if you're struggling with ideas I'd reccomend thinking about the stuff that you like the most and trying to break down what is appealing to you and try to spend some time consuming new ideas from movies, music, games, writing, etc.

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>>2430352

I don't know. But I didn't even read your post and I already was intrigued by your image, so I instinctively started imaging how I'd change it to be more disturbing.

I tried breaking up the horns at the time in my head and bringing each down to go into the nostril opposite of side the horn sprouted from, but found that would detract from possible making the mouth more disturbing so went against it.

I like the long, long neck, I might have made it even longer, and I do like the presence of traps and musculature around the neck. I probably would extend down to the body and make the torso quite wide, but the arms would be very thin, almost skeletal, but freakishly long.

Not sure what I'd do with the legs. When I think of something that is disturbing, I don't necessarily just mindlessly add horns, fangs, and other bullshit. I try to picture myself standing next to the creature and creating it in a way so I'd feel the most intimidated by it.

>>2430788
Not op but thx

>>2430352
A good mode of thought to be in (from my experience with design) is to try and catch yourself off guard. To summarize: experiment with shapes and forms that you initially don't think look right. Relinquish the desire to make something "cool" because what is cool is simply what is already established as being "cool" and if you want to make an interesting design you have to break the mould.

Generally if you have a negative reaction to something you've drawn in-terms of its design you're on the right track. Work it until the elements fit together.

To help train your design sense, take a simple concept like pic related (horns) and do something funky with it. Like what the artist did here by turning the two horns into a weird ring that makes absolutely no sense but for that reason it's kindof brilliant. You don't have to make full on illustrations, just doodle in your sketchbook. Tell yourself, "today I'm going to design shit" and spend a few hours doing it.

>>2430788
you a smart lad

I was trying to copy some of HR Gigers style once, for a comic book cover of Riddick vs Alien. I was airbrushing india ink on watercolor paper. I didn't like the result so when cleaning my gun with alcohol I went ahead and tried to destroy the picture. The result blew my mind. The alcohol sort of erased and bled out the ink when I used it as medium and it struck a spark in my imagination. It just fit.
I'm saying that experimenting with techniique may help imagination take hold. Heck just look at Pollack.

>>2430788
>without ideas you're just a toolset to be bought by other

I get your general idea and you're not wrong but I have to pick on this specific part, because it's very rare for anyone to be hired for their ability to Loomis alone. Usually a high level of imagination is required from any pro artist and it's going to need to show in your portfolio. It's doubly more because the things they ask you to do are often formulated in incredibly opaque ways. You are the designer after all - you are the one supposed to come up with the ideas.

It's rarely "Draw this specific character with all these specific parts and attributes that are listed here in minute detail"

It's usually something like:

"Draw an elf. Make it look cool"

Or even better:

"Draw a character for this place"

Or EVEN better:

"I feel orange. Draw me something that makes me feel squinky"

"I don't know what I really want. But I need you to use telepathic meditation to know the exact thing I don't even know I want and just make it"

If you're gonna be a professional, you'll going to need a ton of imagination just to interpret some of the requests thrown your way, srs, and this applies just as much to the requests from suits in a corporate setting as random weirdoes on the internet.

Just so no one gets the wrong idea that they can just forever focus on doing loomis heads and land a job as a concept artist as someone else's "toolset" as it's very rarely like that.

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I have a huge collection of images from all over the internet. I download things that look interesting to me and organize them. This has been going on for years and that's where I get most of my ideas.

It's like a personal inspiration library. So next time you see something that inspires you, just fucking download that shit.

>>2431116

What is going on there?

>>2431308
That.

>>2431308
Two people have sex and in doing so, fuse together into a crocodile. Then they fuck off.

>>2431308
Can't you read? The explanation is right there.

>>2431440
Lel, nice troll. Even the fucking author probably doesn't know what the shit he was writing when he made the Codex Seraphinianus.

>>2431474
I am the author and you're wrong.

>>2430612
Well it can't all be amazing drawings with intricate detail on the first try but you can come up with a cool idea and build on the drawing later. It's about letting yourself spill anything lurking in that brain of yours and actually putting it onto paper. On Saturday I spent like 4-5 hours just drawing two characters for the hell of it. I imagined their personality, temperment and morality and drew them in different poses trying to show those things even if it came out lame as fuck. I'll probably forget about them in a week but at least I had some laughs and fleshed out a few "characters" for myself. Try to make it fun.

I have the opposite problem, I draw from imagination too much because I love to have fun with my stuff so nothing ever sticks. Don't even care that it comes out shitty cause I'm too busy having fun. Let your inner kid do its thing anon.

>>2430612
just think about it, if you haven't put in at least 10,000 hours drawing just from imagination (excluding all the studies that should come beforehand) don't expect to see your work as better than others.

once you've put in the effort, you will have all the skills you need, and combined with you're personal tastes, you should be well on your way to making the art that you like better than any other artist

>>2430953
can you show it to us? or would it be too "revealing" for you personally?

also bump for more tips I like this thread

>>2430352
drugs, cartoons, trying to turn abstract work into something NOT abstract

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>>2431116
good advice, i agree. a tip

to make this whole process easier. i grabbed that extension for pintrest and whatever i find just right click pin and a pop up opens where i can pin to a collection, also add a quick description.

saves allot of space and can access everywhere, also can be made private.

not shilling for pintrest. other than this it sucks. always recommending me some shitty housewife inspired poster card art for "inspiration"

>>2430352
Go to artstation , look at all the shit on frontpage. Do not do anything like shit there but still make it good at the same time.