Imagination and Creativity

What type of artist are you? Some artists can draw anything from their imagination. Others are visual artist; if they can see it they can draw it. Is imagination and creativity the same thing? Personally, I think they are related, but not necessarily the same thing.

Imagination is your minds ability to visualize concepts while creativity takes those concepts and produces artistic work. Creativity and imagination go together to help you be a more rounded artist.
At times, depending on the subject, I am able to draw basic doodles from imagination. However when to comes to more complete projects I am a visual artist and rely on references. Is it possible to practice and learn enough to become a strictly imaginative artist? It's hard to say. While there are  talented people who can draw merely from the images in their mind, they are the exception and not the norm. Most art schools are designed as visual centres of learning with a high emphasis on live and observational drawing courses. You can however become a creative genius in time.

Constant practice from observation will hone your skills as an artist. I once knew a man who had studied Kung Fu for many years. Eventually after years of practice his body had developed Muscle Memory so that the movements had become second nature. His muscles knew instinctively what to do with thinking about it. Drawing is very similar. You'll find yourself at times with finger, hand and arm aches from drawing so much. Your fingers may even become numb. That constant practice and specific pencil motion with your arm, hand and fingers will become second nature. For example if you set yourself the task of drawing the same face a thousand times, take a look at your first drawing compared to your last. The last one will obviously be better. Why? Because with each drawing you were developing the necessary muscle co-ordination to draw the next drawing better and better and better.

Regardless of the type of artist you are, drawing is a lifetime pursuit filled with with new obstacles to overcome.

Drawing for Fun

When I was younger I used to sit down and draw aimlessly. I remember  I would sit at school and just draw my time away. Back then I never understood any principles or elements of design. I had no clue about perspective, harmony or color. No one ever explained drawing from observation or how to properly hold a pencil. When I was a kid all I knew is that drawing was fun.

We could talk about art theory forever, but if you are not enjoying what you are doing then you're just wasting money on art material and time on a frustrating pursuit. I've met many artist; some it seems,  have raw talent from birth and others have taken time to develop their skills, but I have noticed that the most successful ones are those that have a passion for drawing. For them drawing is their life.

Unfortunately there's also the other spectrum of "artists". I was invited once to share my portfolio in a design foundations class. There was one person in particular who kept saying he wanted to be a better artist, he wanted to be able to draw and paint and create anything he could imagine. He kept hoping and wishing that he could be better. I asked the instructor about him and their response was that he was never in class, never handed in homework and never finished his projects. I felt disappointed in him. How can a person expect to be better and not put in the hard work?

This type of attitude from aspiring artist reminds me of a quote attributed to Michelangelo,

"If people knew how hard I had to work to gain my mastery, it would not seem so wonderful at all."

https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/182763.Michelangelo_Buonarroti

So why should we have fun and enjoy what we do? The answer is simple. For me at least, it's the pure enjoyment of the artform. There is a feeling of satisfaction in being able to create something from nothing. Drawing truly is a craft and honing your skills to become a professional in that field is not only satisfying, but rewarding.



Take for example this creature drawing I created in illustrator. It's still not finished. Little by little I work on it in-between projects, but it's relaxing and fun figuring out where everything goes. So enjoy drawing for drawing's sake. If you are going to do this for a living then you might as well have a blast while doing it.