06-30-2026, 04:17 AM
It a misconception to not use reference also pro artist who don't use them may advise to learn from imagination but that doesn't mean they didn't use them to build an understanding of how to draw those from reference first and combine them into something new.
You still need to cultivate a visual library before so that you can actually draw from a place of knowing that mean that you are training a ''muscle'' here drawing from imagination is not something you don't struggle with until you reach a certain level of understanding of fundamental it totally OOOOK and expected that it will not come easy.
How would you draw a bird from imagination with no notion of anatomy or form let that sink in a moment you might have seen a lot of bird but that doesn't mean you understand stuff like perspective or light which aren't necessary to draw from imagination but will be if you use value instead of line to capture a form. The path forward in my opinion is a practical understanding of the fundamental this is what drawing from imagination rely on. One thing to help start drawing from imagination is drawing loosely looking for the big 3D shape that can be assemble to create a starting point being able to find the middle line of a form is very important milestone so as to maintain an axis of symmetry which help for example correctly place a double door in the middle of a door way and have both door be the same height and lenght as each other or just place the arm on a character.
You still need to cultivate a visual library before so that you can actually draw from a place of knowing that mean that you are training a ''muscle'' here drawing from imagination is not something you don't struggle with until you reach a certain level of understanding of fundamental it totally OOOOK and expected that it will not come easy.
How would you draw a bird from imagination with no notion of anatomy or form let that sink in a moment you might have seen a lot of bird but that doesn't mean you understand stuff like perspective or light which aren't necessary to draw from imagination but will be if you use value instead of line to capture a form. The path forward in my opinion is a practical understanding of the fundamental this is what drawing from imagination rely on. One thing to help start drawing from imagination is drawing loosely looking for the big 3D shape that can be assemble to create a starting point being able to find the middle line of a form is very important milestone so as to maintain an axis of symmetry which help for example correctly place a double door in the middle of a door way and have both door be the same height and lenght as each other or just place the arm on a character.