Creative Frustration!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Maddness

So I had a long post on here, but I think I got carried away and totally missed the focus of what I was posting about.

So here's a revised version.

Let's say you have an idea in your head, but your artistic abilities limit you from putting it on paper or in photoshop . Where do you go next? Do you try to piece together reference shots? Do you ask someone else if they can help draw out your vision? Etc etc.


And again, I appreciate everyone's crits on my art. I know I suck hard But it's cool I still enjoy drawing, and will definitely check out the suggestions that were presented to me.

Maddness

btw, this isn't me saying I am trying to get a job as a concept artist or anything. As fun as that'd be, it's not the goal of this thread. I'm just interested in how people get past their boundaries for ideas. I simply draw for myself for modeling ideas from my head.

ChaosEidolon

Theres a fuzzy line between cartoon and realistic...that being "stylized".

check out Paul Richards http://www.autodestruct.com/

Certainly not realistic but that hardly matters. The style's great, and as long as you could keep the style consistant throughout the game youd have a great looking game. Same with Warcraft.

Id say you have the start of something there, so dont fight it. Study anatomy and other realistic reference, but incorporate it into your style.

Maddness

paul richards is a great artist. i love his work. very familiar with him.

Haha, this is actually turning out totally different than I thought. So let me fix it up a bit.

low odor

my 2 cents is that you should learn your fundamentals...anatomy, color theory, design...etc If you dont have a solid foundation regaurdless of what style your shooting for, your going to struggle. Don't let your "stlye" be your crutch.

Ruz

well i gave up on concept art . I stick to what i am best at ie texturing and modelling in that order. In order to visualise I have to build the model quickly and gather lots of reference. Where there's a will there's is a way:)

aesir

It means you have to practice your fundamentals lots lots more.

Sage

Well for one avoid what you are not good at. If you can't draw a 3/4 view of say a vehicle, like me don't bother, I design shit all the time. Draw the views you are good at and then tackle the views you can't draw for example. I can't draw very well in perspective it becomes a mess and just destroys any creative vibe I had going. With practice you do get better. The Gnomon 3D dvds have helped me a lot. they have helped fill the gaps I have had in regards to having any formal technique and so far I have found them very motivating. Get reference since it helps break artist block, or go read something that you like since it might help you want to create something. It helps me. Like the others said practice your fundamentals, but that can be stressful when you having something your head that you just want to put on paper. Once you have some views even if they are rough or look like crap in your mind try an model something. See if you like it and if it's going somewhere. Don't over do it. Render or do screen grabs and refine in photoshop and see if that helps. Layer things and use what you drew as a guide and polish the crap out of it until it looks like something you wanted. Then just practice, a lot and don't give into the voice in your head that says oh this looks like crap give up.

Alex

Maddness

good ideas everyone. I am going to try and work on my fundamentals a lot more.

Joseph Silverman

Sage, if you don't draw anything you're not good at, how will you get better? If you can't draw 3/4ths, isn't that cause to practice?

aesir

Yea, dont listen to sage. If you're bad at drawing one particular thing, like hands, or noses or whatever, then you should practice doing those the most.

greenj2

Personally I'd always rather do my own concept work rather than get someone who has better 2d skills to do it for me. The way I see it, if your concept skills are weak, you need all the practice you can get. Seeing how someone else does it can help, but I don't think you'll benefit as much as you would if you persevere with it yourself.

Reference material is great for taking a concept from your mind and bringing it to life in a believable way. If you're concepting a character with a sword, a gun or a particular piece of armor, see if you can find reference material of similar objects from real life. I find it's a good way of creating more believable/functional concepts as well as a good source of inspiration for adding details to your concept along the way.

I also find Photoshop can be a lot less frustrating than traditional mediums if you struggle with things like proportion and foreshortening. It's just a hell of a lot more forgiving when it comes to correcting mistakes. That said, whenever I want to focus soley on my drawing skills I prefer traditional mediums for that same reason. It's easy to get too anal about fixing mistakes and lose your momentum.

Just a few ideas from my black hole of a brain, hopefully some of it was useful to you. Remember that concepting isn't neseccarily about making awesome looking, flawless 2d images (all the better if you can though). The core of it is to refine your original idea and sometimes convey that idea to others. Good luck with your concept man and I'll be keeping an eye out for it in the pimping forum.

Sage

Hmmm I guess my post came out wrong... I'm just saying not to avoid drawing or designing things just because you can't get it to look good from all angles. It's easy to get caught up in trying to be perfect at something, and when things don't work out the practice just becomes even a bigger source of frustration. I practice what I'm not good at, I just learned not to let it get to me when things go bad.

Alex