Creativity

[Drakdragon]

How do you guys enhance your creativity? In the terms of coming up with new costumes, new characters/creatures/mechs, backgrounds, etc...? This is where I believe my problem lies, i don't have a big imagination when it comes to drawing something. It takes me a long time to come up with something to draw which is usually not even great half the time. I'd just like to know how do you guys come up with your ideas?

[tensai]

force yourself to do thumbnail sketches to generate as many ideas as fast as possible first. 30 in 15 minutes for example. dont be critical yet. just fill 'm up and go for a wide variety. then evaluate them and combine and transform, flip, cut up etc etc to generate more thumbnails. pretty soon youll have something like 98 crap ideas with 1 or 2 good ones there.

[Interceptor]

After some good advice on this forum, I stopped STARING at other people's work. And stripped all the artwork off my walls. I have no choice but to create something more original now that there's nothing to influence me.

[oracrest]

I think one of the best things you can do as an artist is apply and draw influence from the most unconventional things you can. By this, I mean really strip something that you find interesting down into basic elements, then apply those singular elements to other things.

I see so much art that draws its influence only by other things within its context.

If your designing a character for example, try not to think about what you find cool in other character designs from other people, but go more abstractly. find something you find interesting in architecture, or nature, or even something as intangible as an emotion, and try and let that drive your design. I think some of the most interesting and original designs and art are those that break these molds of influence, and go much deeper.

The flipside suggestion would be to confine yourself within design. Give yourself some very specific limitations, then concentrate your energy and efforts within those limitations. I often been surprised at how creating something within preset guidelines can be more fulfilling and rewarding than creating in a vacuum. Setting those mental limits breaks down the illusion that you have literally infinity to draw from. I have gotten the feeling that no matter what I draw or design, it just barely scratches the surface of potential. A guideline can provide a seeming comfort zone where you dont worry about that as much, and feel more free to create....

hope that makes sense... and helps

[Elwell]

Learn as much as you can about as much as you can. Most of the successful artists I know are total information junkies.

[DavidCousens]

Learn as much as you can about as much as you can. Most of the successful artists I know are total information junkies.

This sounds simple at first, but is absolutely brilliant advice. History and nature are especially useful, there are so many amazing things to discover if you scratch pass the surface.

Actually, it's just good advice for life period!

[central]

get out, do watever it is that ur interested in besides art. play football, go for a walk and do something that we often forget to. ..... gaze in wonder at life all around u and try to help ur imagination to grow. ur imagination is no different from a child that needs nourishment.
interceptor's spot on 2, stop gawkin at other people's art, its no #$#$in use in the end, uv gotta create ur own.
just take things easy, dont think of it as a chore, the beauty of art is that its usually all the things that are done besides art that really boosts ur art, because art is nothing but 'self' expression. paradoxical but we're so fkin lucky, most people will never have that with the jobs they do. all the best.

[jfwalls]

Learn as much as you can about as much as you can. Most of the successful artists I know are total information junkies.

Haha...that's so true. I love to see people's eye's roll in boredom when they get me on a subject I know too much about!

[Greg L]

Here's something I just tried. Briefly look at some designs to get a sense of the "presentation", i.e. layout, detail level, etc. Then spend some time looking at photos/art/whatever that has nothing to do with the subject. As soon as you feel a bit of inspiration and something starts brewing, thats the moment to stop looking at other's stuff. Leave your apartment and go somewhere with just blank paper and pencil. You will not be able to steal any specific thing from somewhere else, and will be forced to sort out all the little details of the design for yourself. This is like getting a little head start, but you still have to run the race yourself.

Anyway, there is no real formula for becoming more creative, though others in this thread have given really good advice. The information junkie thing that Elwell mentioned is very true; get curious about the world.

[JERI]

Deja vu anyone?

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=62941

[Chronologic]

nah. this is a totally different person. they can look to that thread for the advice that i was given.

[Slash]

Expose yourself to the world.

//edit: Also, dont draw anything that relates to "dark" or "dragon" for the next 3 months. That might help.

[Dile_]

Im following the guide lines of what tensai said
Make alot of thumbnails, and take the best one!
and draw dailyy!!!!

[Ilaekae]

Bravo, Elwell...

Try'na find something in an empty garbage can is like waiting for a brick to fart...

[Jason Rainville]

Learn as much as you can about as much as you can. Most of the successful artists I know are total information junkies.

So true.

My teacher one day came up with the idea that creativity is the ability to pull a random thought out of your brain that somehow works, or one that you can mold into and idea that works.

So, if you had more random thoughts/ideas in your head, it would be easier and faster to find the right random idea that could fit the situation.

Therefore, he initiated a "10 minutes of zen" time before the beginning of each of his classes, where a new student each week would present an idea/fact/story (the story of the death of balder and how the themes of a story that old still carry on today, in my case ) that would really make us think, and help create more random thoughts.

He is officially the best teacher I've ever had.

[armando]

I think it has to do with permutation. "characters/creatures/mechs, backgrounds" these cliches all have a finite number of possible variations. It seems to me the first thing to do is assemble a list of characteristics for each, then to put something together ala Mr. Potatohead. Say you want to create a character, there are several requirements, say: sex, height, build. It can be male or female; short, average, or tall; fat, average, skinny, or buff. Trying different combinations from this list will get you started, then your subconscious will come into play.
Another thing I'll say is steal as many ideas as you can from real life and different cultures. Try to draw this stuff without reference first, and your mistakes and ommissions should chance upon something unusual.