This won't work, we need systems
(Unfiltered - it's built up from a lot of information in one dense post, don't worry about understanding all of it, there's been a steady build up over time, I'd recommend going to earlier posts to understand where these thoughts came from) Drawing like this won't do it. Cubes setup the mechanics, but only turning them won't work. Cubes teach us what we're trying to do with more complex forms, getting hung up on them is inefficient. You could be here forever trying to get a perfect cube, perfect lines - better to internalise what you're trying to do and learn that by drawing other things and adding to this up as you go. Line control and quality is meaningless if you don't know what you're trying to control in the first place. Design? What are you even designing if you don't know what you're trying to design. We need systems.
We need 3 systems. 1. Deconstruction, simplification and memorisation 2. Reconstruction, detailing and recall 3. Stylisation, manipulation and imagination
These words are very specific, do. not. deviate. People who can draw from imagination don't have an endless visual library, that would be ridiculous, there's way too much to memorise, it would be abnormal. You could specialise in one subject and memorise all the individual intricacies. The other route is a general approach and then you learn the specifics of the subject as and when they come up. example You need to construct a landscape, but the project half way suddenly needs to change from a jungle setting to cyberpunk. First thing is you complain about the project management for letting it get this far, I'm just joking, work with your team ffs. No, with systems you could salvage a lot more than expected, compositions, colour palettes, layouts, all it is is a skin over the top. We're talking hit the emergency button because the whole project is about to collapse if we don't turn it around RIGHT NOW. Let's break down each system (drawing from imagination is more like drawing from memory+ the more you draw, the more you internalise.
This is EVERY TIME we encounter something new and try to draw it. This is how we are going to learn to put it into memory. This takes time and repetition, the more you do it, the easier it gets. The subject doesn't matter. If you haven't encountered it, you're doing this first.
This is testing how well we did the first part. You can patch up any wobbly parts by using reference. This is important - the goal isn't perfect recollection, it's filling in blanks so the next time you draw it, you can recall a little bit more.
Finally is making it look appealing. The least important structurally, the most important culturally. The trap is thinking this is what drawing is. But if you can't see the underlying structures and forms, it'll cause people to get stuck on the tip of the iceberg. Once you've seem beyond the curtain, it's over. The mountain is huge, the iceberg is deep. Focusing too much on it steers us away from the structures, not focusing on this enough makes drawing lifeless, robotic. Phase 1 - The team: eyes, brain, hands Step 1: Deconstruction We learn to draw by deconstructing everything - arguably this is the most important. It teaches us everything else we need. Deconstruction is exclusively our power of observation. This is how well you can see, colours, shapes, speed, measurement accuracy. Step 1 is train your eyes. Step 2: Simplification If you can simplify something to it's basic elements, you understand it. This is out brain's power of understanding. Can you identify what you're looking at. Name the lights, materials, forms, planes, edges. Name it all. If you can't name it, find out what it is. Step 3: Memorisation This is the hard part. There's so much information we now have to cram in and represent. This is why this post even exists. It's too much to memorise all at once, we forget things, we internalise others, you've never remember absolutely everything you've ever drawn all at once. There's no rush, just draw a lot and think about what you're doing. Phase 2 - Representing what we've learned Step 4: Reconstruction To what degree can we now remember and pull out of our memory. If it lives in storage that's all it is, an idea. This is where we make it real. Some things are going to be easier to pull out than others, a simple blob is going to be much easier than a skull. Step 5: Detailing We don't need to remember everything, all we need is associated shapes. A pirate ship is a long shape that uses skulls, ropes, barrels. A space helmet is a sphere with tubes and gadgetry stuck on the side. A tree trunk is a long cube with tendrils coming off it. Step 6: Recall This is filtering through an ever growing library of information. This is how are you sorting through the sheer density of stuff living up there. You need organise it neatly and know where to look. You need lighting from this type of scenario, you need shapes that can substitute as an iris, you want particles that look like water. Knowing exactly where to look is the difference between being in the flow and just doing it, versus breaking concentration for an hour to find a specific reference. Phase 3 - Presentation Step 7: Stylisation In the end, if we are to be understood we need to convey all of that information. This is where what it looks like comes down to who the audience is. An animatic full of gesture lines, block ins and representation is going to mean more to other artists and feel incomplete to someone who doesn't draw. If you're passing off full illustrations to the 3d modeller they're going to kill you. They don't give a flying rats ass how cool it looks, show a turnaround. Call outs. Palettes. Give. them. the. information. Concept art follows the same principal. Get the idea across, make it look good later. Step 8: Manipulation Once we understand the underlying structures, can we manipulate them to do what we want them to be. Maybe the character looks cooler with a big puffed up chest, a wonky nose, ironed clothes. We must think about what can we do to make whatever it is we're drawing more interesting and convincing. If you can get a hang of this phase, you're not reliant on getting a perfect reference. But it's hard. Good luck. Step 9: Imagination We use all of the above to create things which don't exist. If you got all that, you can design an old god. An angel. 5 headed beast of the underworld.
Pick any aspect of this process that feels weak and work on that. This is drawing. 9 things. That's all. You find a way you like to do all 9 and you're golden. The last element is time. My gut tells me, once you have a solid system for each, that's when you've 'made it'. It's not that all the art is going to be amazing, it's that you know exactly how you like to problem solve.
(my approach to art is so analytical? Just in case, I will mention that art is a reflection of the ways we think and move through the world. To some people all of this would be wrong, perhaps you're more emotionally driven, or instinctive, find how you work and do that. That's all. Just find the way that makes the most sense, if you can find mentors who think in the same way as you, stick with them)
This post is the engine. There literally won't ever be a plateau. Took a lot less time to work all this out than I thought it would. This is to make sure you don't lose yourself now. When you can suddenly see all the mistakes, feeling dissatisfied and empty with your best, don't lose yourself in it because the signals aren't readjusted yet. This is merely the gap between ability and perception, the gap will close. Just need to not give up before it does.
