/ic/ - Artwork/Critique

No one's gonna tell you. Use the fucking questions thread.

>>3490767
Creative answers only. ET go home

>>3490763
are you for real? literally look at things. and draw things you want to absorb in a more complete way.

example: water. find some pictures you like (different lighting environments). recreate it. understand why those colors (or values if youre working grayscale) are doing what theyre doing. whats the texture. how can you recreate that texture. how does it reflect (and refract) light. how does it move/whats the viscosity. note the palette. draw draw draw. take notes if that helps you retain information. try to draw it with no reference.

with more specific forms like hands you should draw them from multiple angles and break it down and render it. even more basic form studies of cubes and pyramids and such to study light and how it acts will expand your library

>>3490763
You don't have to memorize the world. Use a reference when you need to draw something. Need to draw the inside of a tavern? Look up pictures of different taverns to see all the details you might be missing than if you just tried to kick it from your head.

>>3490884
Visual library isn’t about drawing solely from imagination it’s about giving you a starting point. Reference can then come in and help fill in the blanks

>>3490763
Look at things. Break them down into simpler forms, internalize that form. Look at the thing more and observe how it moves, how it deforms, how light reflects off of it. Draw it a lot.

>>3490763
DRAW FROM REFERENCE A LOT EVERY DAY

>>3490763
>he doesn't know the secret method

My theory is that an efficient way to expand a visual library goes like this.

Step 1: Try to draw what you want to draw from imagination without a reference. If you haven't drawn it before, 90% odds it's going to suck ass, that's fine, it's part of the process. Give it a proper effort to try and figure it out. This'll help step 2 stick.

Step 2: After trying to figure it out yourself, consult reference, do a study, compare to your fucked up initial imagination drawing. What did you do wrong? What did you do right? Shore it all up.

Repeat step 1. Try your best to remember what you studied from reference without consulting it. Try to modify it as needed, etc.

Most people start with step 2, they consult the reference first and then they study it, but I think anybody who doesn't do significant imagination work is shortchanging themselves. Good retention requires retrieval, and retrieval means actually consulting your memory and trying to utilize it. Consulting references is basically outsourcing your memory to your vision, and if your brain doesn't need to use your memory it won't, because that takes effort and the brain tends to prefer the path of least resistance. Imagination drawing is basically quizzing yourself, and quizzing yourself is really good for retention.

JUST

DRAW